Objective
Because of the importance of family meals to the health of families and the learning of healthy eating habits for children, the Washington State University (WSU) Family Supper Club was created. The “Family Supper Club” component was built into the “Eat Together Eat Better” program to introduce strategies to promote family meals and provide guidance and practice for families in establishing routine meal time patterns to support family health and resiliency.
Design, Setting, Participants, and Intervention
Started in Spring 2013, the Family Supper Club was established with community programs, faith-based groups and in college settings. A six lesson series presented WSU Eat Together Eat Better curriculum followed by sessions which allowed parents and their children to take the lead in each of the lesson topics – Cook, Conversation and Celebration. Families were supported in each lesson by nutrition educators who modeled best practice.
Outcome Measures and Analysis
Retrospective surveys were completed by participants following the six week program.
Results
Participants reported that they learned about healthy eating through recipe preparation. Cooking with their children and conversation were valued activities. An increase was reported in eating meals together from 85% prior to the classes to 100% following the six week series. A campus Supper Club at WSU Vancouver contributed to student retention rates by using “family” meals to help students feel connected to the campus community and to a variety of students across diverse majors.
Conclusions and Implications
When children eat with their parents, they generally have more healthful diets and parents report feeling more connected to their children’s lives. Nutrition educators can guide families in eating together resulting in consumption of healthy meals.
Funding
None
Article info
Publication history
P12
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Published by Elsevier Inc.
