Every September, IGA joins FMI's National Family Meals Month to celebrate something simple: sitting down together. Research from The Food Industry Association's Family Meals Movement backs up what most of us already feel in our gut — 88% of Americans agree that sharing family meals is important, and teens who eat dinner with their family three or more times a week are far less likely to turn to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco, and more likely to report higher grades and self-esteem. Kids who grow up with regular family meals also tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and maintain healthier weights.
None of that happens because the meal was Pinterest-perfect. It happens because everyone showed up.
Family Meals Don't Have to Be Perfect — They Just Have to Be
If the idea of a "family meal" conjures a matching table setting and a four-course spread, let's reset expectations right now. The research doesn't care whether dinner was a slow-simmered roast or scrambled eggs and toast — it only cares that people ate it together, without screens, and talked.
So give yourself permission: breakfast-for-dinner counts. Tacos on paper plates count. Fifteen minutes at the counter between practice and homework counts. The goal isn't a cooking show — it's a few minutes a day where your family is in the same place, facing each other instead of a screen.
Making It Happen (Even on the Busy Nights)
A few small habits make family meals a lot easier to keep:
- Pick your nights, not perfection. Three family dinners a week is enough to see the benefits. Choose the nights that realistically work and protect those.
- Phones in a basket. A single rule — no devices at the table — does more for conversation than any planning app.
- Let the kids help. Washing vegetables, setting the table, or stirring the pot gives kids ownership and shaves a few minutes off your to-do list.
- Keep a 20-minute rule. If a recipe takes longer than that on a weeknight, save it for the weekend. One-pan and sheet-pan meals are a family-meal secret weapon.
- Rotate who "hosts." Let each family member pick the menu or the conversation topic on their night — it turns dinner into something to look forward to instead of one more chore.
Conversation Starters for the Table
Getting everyone to the table is half the job — getting them talking is the other half. A few easy games to keep in your back pocket:
- Rose, Bud, Thorn: Everyone shares a high from their day (rose), something they're looking forward to (bud), and a challenge they faced (thorn).
- High/Low/Buffalo: The classic best part, worst part — plus one truly random or weird moment from the day.
- Would You Rather: Keep a running list on your phone or a jar of questions on the table for when conversation stalls.
- Two Truths and a Dinner: Everyone shares two true things and one lie about their day; the rest of the table guesses the lie.
- The Question Jar: Fill a jar with conversation-starter slips ("What's a rule you'd make if you were in charge for a day?") and pull one each night.
Meal Planning and Prepping Ideas
A little planning on the weekend buys back a lot of time during the week:
- Theme your nights. Taco Tuesday, Sheet-Pan Sunday, Breakfast-for-Dinner Friday — themes take the "what's for dinner" decision off the table entirely.
- Batch-cook a protein on Sunday. Grill or roast a big batch of pork or beef and repurpose it across the week — tacos on Monday, a grain bowl on Wednesday, sandwiches on Friday.
- Prep a "grab-and-go" bin. Washed, chopped vegetables and pre-portioned snacks in the fridge make assembling a fast dinner (or lunch) much easier.
- Build your list around what's on sale. Check your IGA weekly ad before you plan the week's menu — it's the easiest way to stretch the grocery budget without sacrificing variety.
- Freeze in meal-sized portions. Soups, chili, and casseroles freeze well and turn a busy weeknight into a five-minute reheat.
Bring Your Sponsors' Brands to the Table
This year's Celebrate Family Meals Month sweepstakes is made possible by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, the Pork Board, and Australian Beef — three brands that make it easier to build a family meal everyone will actually eat.
- Coca-Cola Zero Sugar is the easy, no-sugar way to make a weeknight dinner feel a little more like an occasion — pour it over ice and let it do the celebrating for you.
- Pork Board's Pork Be Inspired® has a deep library of quick, family-friendly pork recipes — think sheet-pan pork chops, weeknight tenderloin, and pork tacos that come together in well under 30 minutes.
- Australian Beef, through True Aussie Beef & Lamb, is a great source for lean, quick-cooking cuts perfect for busy weeknights — stir-fries, tacos, and burgers that don't require a lot of hands-on time.
Enter to Win $500 Toward Your Family Meals
To help make it a little easier to gather around the table, IGA is giving shoppers a chance to win $500 as part of the Celebrate Family Meals Month sweepstakes, sponsored by Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, the Pork Board, and Australian Beef.
Enter now at iga.com for your chance to win — because whatever you serve this September, the table's better with everyone at it.