Press Release

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For Immediate Release

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[YOUR COMPANY NAME] Commits to Helping Families Eat at Home Together More Often During National Family Meals Month™

The proven health and societal benefits of family meals inspire a month-long event aimed at helping families get back to the table

YOUR CITY, STATE – September, day, year – With an aim to inspire families to eat at home together more often, as a service to public health, [name of organization] is celebrating National Family Meals Month™ in September, encouraging families to share one more meal together per week at home, and highlighting simple, healthy meal resources to make it easier for families raise their mitt to commit to making these meals happen.

Numerous studies underscore the long-term health, academic, and societal benefits of consistently eating together as a family, yet, according to a 2013 Harris poll, only 30 percent of American families share dinner every night. In addition, recent research proves that people who frequently cook at home eat fewer and healthier calories. And the National Family Meals Month™ movement works!  Research from the 2016 campaign shows that 85% of shoppers said they took action after seeing the campaign. Further, 95% of those who saw the campaign on social media and/or email said that their consumption and/or shopping behavior changed. 

“September is the perfect month to spotlight the long-term benefits of family meals, and start a conversation that encourages and inspires people to return to the kitchen,” said [organization spokesperson, title]. “Juggling the demands of modern life—school, sports, jobs and long commutes— can sabotage the best laid plans for home-cooked meals. In addition to our commitment to public health overall, we want to have a hand in helping our audience make wholesome meals together, at home, a modern family tradition.”

“Interest in creating more opportunities for families to eat meals together is at a critical point in our society,” said Leslie Sarasin, president and CEO of FMI, the Food Industry Association, creator of National Family Meals Month™. “The will to return to the table exists, but families need a friendly, familiar voice to encourage, guide and help them. That voice comes from organizations they know and trust. Join us as we work collaboratively with retailers, food manufacturers, and health organizations from across the country to bring families back to the table to share one more meal at home per week.”

Recognizing mealtime struggles are real and shared by families of all shapes and size

Grocers and food manufacturers are offering more solutions than ever before, giving shoppers the tools they need to make one more family meal at home per week and [name of organization] has the resources to help consumers connect the dots and implement a plan. Shoppers can utilize the following resources from our website: [Link to your National Family Meals Month™ “landing page” of online resources]

Raise Your Mitt to Commit™ to One More Meal at Home per Week

[Organization name] is encouraging our community to join the National Family Meals Month™ movement by pledging to one more meal at home per week. Make it official, and shareable, by posting a selfie wearing your favorite oven mitt with the hashtag #familymealsmonth. Follow [Organization name] on Facebook and Twitter to join the conversation this September.

About National Family Meals Month™

The FMI Foundation created National Family Meals Month™ as a nationwide, annual event to highlight the mealtime solutions offered by grocers and to encourage families to share one more meal at home per week.

About [your organization]

Insert your standard boilerplate here.

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'Source Note: Cornell University College of Human Ecology Department of Policy Analysis and Management: Do Family Meals Really Make a Difference?, Eliza Cook, Rachel Dunifon. 2012; Accessed [date], http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/outreach/upload/Family-Mealtimes-2.pdf