Around 50 per cent of Australians eat dinner in front of the TV, but now a new initiative is focusing on the table rather than the couch.
Created by mum-of-three, Danielle Barrett, Around the Table provides nutritious, easy-to-assemble family meal kits and activity cards, so that busy parents can serve up dinner in 15 minutes flat and connect with their kids in a screen-free way.
As an added bonus, Around the Table isn't just about fun and food, it's about fund-raising as well.
How Around the Table works
The idea is that parents, schools and child care centres sign up here. Once subscribed, chilled meal kits are delivered to the family's school or child care centre each Wednesday afternoon, meaning that one night a week, dinner is fully catered.
The meals are healthy, generous and simple to serve, and each kit comes with activity cards that encourage communication at dinnertime. There are vegetarian meal options, the choice of a dessert add-on, and if you've got dinner sorted, you can just buy the activity packs.
Meals start from $39 per week and the excellent news is that 10 per cent of the sale price of each meal kit and activity pack is donated to the family's school (or chosen charity) at the end of term.
You can click here to see if your school or child care centre is already registered with Around the Table and here's to less TV dinners and more fun at the table!
5 good reasons to eat dinner together
Whether or not you join Around the Table, there is a strong case for eating as a family. Here are five reasons to enjoy dinner at the table:
- Family dinners help boost the vocabulary of young children and have been associated with better academic results for older children.
- Dining together leads to healthier food choices, with children eating more vegetables and fruit. It also provides a chance to talk about nutrition and exercise portion control.
- Family dinners offer opportunities for children to try new foods and expand their tastes.
- Dinners enjoyed together strengthen family bonds and give younger children a feeling of belonging and security.
- Regular family dinners have been linked with reducing stress in both parents and children, improving teenagers’ mental health and lowering the risk of negative teen behaviours.
All of which means that family dinners nourish the body and the mind, with some fun thrown in for good measure.
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