They haven't learned the meaning of mutual responsibility, or experienced the caring and love that families can only express, I believe, by sharing nourishment. Once, not so long ago, food preparation and food service were both the solemn duty and the reward of family living. And humanistic values were instilled, more than anyplace else, at the dinner table. The ritual of coming to the dinner table was once the basis of community. Polls tell us that in the United States today, something like seventy-five percent of the nation's children never share meals with their families.
Modern technology makes it easy for food to be consumed on the run, in small units.
We have to make time to do this. I don't think people know what they've thrown out. They've adopted that other pattern of eating, and forgotten what living, delicious food is. If we want kids to join us at the table, we have to show them why. And one of the biggest reasons is that you learn at the table.