Who Exactly Is Rich?
November 23, 2009
UNICEF recently studied child well-being in what it calls rich countries. In addition to basic needs, it measured children’s “sense of being loved, valued, and included in the families and societies into which they are born.” Those are just the factors that are deepened by family meals.
In its study, UNICEF included family meals. Unfortunately, the U.S. did not measure up very well.
Out of 28 countries surveyed, we ranked number 23. In Italy, 93 percent of teenagers ate their main meal with their family several days a week. In the U.S., the percentage was 65.
Eating with family and loved ones does not take a big bank account or advanced technology. We can arrange our family’s schedules to make meals happen. We can find friends and neighbors who share our values. We can lobby schools, workplaces, after school activities to be more family-friendly. We can encourage community initiatives.
In recent years, this kind of attention has begun to make a difference in helping to support families who want to enjoy this important benefit. Case in point: family meals are now included in important international surveys such as this one.
So who is really rich? Sometimes the answer can be found by looking around our kitchen tables.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today.