Nourishing Strong Families - The Family Dinner Program
In study after study, the positive benefits of sitting down to family meals have been demonstrated for children of all ages. Among them are better grades, healthier eating habits, closer relationships to parents and siblings, a feeling of belonging, the ability to resist negative peer pressure, and resilience in the face of life's problems.
All of these outcomes of simply sharing family dinner on a regular basis gave St Francis Seraph Ministries the idea and motivation for the new Family Dinner Program in Over the Rhine.
“The St. Francis Seraph (SFS) Soup Kitchen has been providing meals to area residents since the 1980’s. But the guests are mostly adults. So this was a great way to expand our dinner ministry to Over-the-Rhine families too”, said Jane Rega, Executive Director for SFS.
We all get too caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life and the family dinner has many times been replaced with soccer games, fast food in the car on the way to dance class or texting and checking emails while eating.
The Family Dinner Program serves a nutritious meal in a pleasant setting. Each family makes a commitment to meeting on Tuesday evenings at 5:30PM for six weeks. During this time, the families sit down to a healthy, nutritious meal together. Each table is set by a member of the family using a diagram prepared in advance. Each table has a small vase of fresh flowers, real plates (not paper) and silverware.
Sister Phyllis Kemper, OSU, RN, and Sister Mary Jennings, CDP lead the program. They both have health, nutrition, and culinary backgrounds. With the help of a great team of volunteers, they have created an environment favorable to nurturing family relationships.
The evening begins with a prayer of gratitude by Larry Shearer, a staff pastor (volunteer pastor) at the Vineyard Community Church in the suburbs of Cincinnati. He and his wife Rhonda are both involved in the program. They met Jane Rega through their involvement in Over the Rhine’s Faith Alliance Group and are plugged into many churches in the area.
Volunteers help prepare healthy foods that kids will actually like. The night of my visit, there were vegetarian lettuce wraps prepared by Allison Burns, one of the SFS teachers; ground turkey tacos, rice and beans prepared by Mary Schroder; and fruit and a low fat dessert of yogurt, cool whip and strawberries made by Sr. Phyllis. One young boy told volunteer, Barb Coyle, that he’d never eaten turkey tacos but he really liked them and would like them again. They all tried the lettuce wraps which was a delightful surprise.
There was no lack of conversation at any of the tables. The kids were well behaved and enjoying themselves. Once everyone finished, they cleared the tables and as the kids had some play time, the adults learned about portion sizes as Sr Phyllis touched on obesity and child diabetes. Last week they learned about kitchen safety. Waikysha, a single mother said she could not believe what a nice night it was to sit down and actually have conversations about their day. “We don’t do this at home”, she said.
There is a lot of research out there including the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. This study found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Through the small lessons of table manners, kids learn to share and think of others. Just saying “please” and “thank you”, we are recognizing the humanity of our brothers and sisters.
As well as serving a nutritious meal in a pleasant setting, the program will provide helpful information about nutrition to encourage meal planning and shopping for the best possible ingredients on what will most likely be a very limited budget.
Housed in the Canticle Café (St. Francis Seraph Parish Hall), the Family Dinner Program can only serve 4-5 families each 6-week cycle. “It’s a challenge to do everything in one room.” according to Sr. Mary. “When the weather is good, we can take the children outside after dinner. That gives us some time to talk with the parents about nutrition, meal planning, and the other topics that are important for bringing what they learn here home.”
Our hope is that families will build on the foundation of their own family wisdom, be able to prepare tasty nutritious food for their loved ones and join the diversity of people who cook and share recipes and finally to benefit from the wisdom of elders and make mealtimes a special time for their families.
For more information about this program, please contact….
Sr. Mary Jennings, CDP, Canticle Café Director, c/o St. Francis Seraph Ministries (513 549-0542 or mjennings@sfsministries.org)
Posted in: Missions
