HIGHTSTOWN — The borough’s Julie Shea is on a mission to see more families share sit-down Sunday dinners with their senior loved ones.
New research shows that 50 percent of surveyed families living near senior relatives feel they do not share enough meals with older loved ones, losing an important family connection, according to a Home Instead survey of a random sample of 1,000 households in the U.S. and Canada conducted earlier this year.
“For seniors, it’s not what’s on their plate that matters most at mealtime — it’s who is at the table with them,” said Shea, owner of the local Home Instead Senior Care office serving Mercer and southern Middlesex counties. “When seniors share meals with a companion, they have a better mealtime experience — both nutritionally and emotionally.”
Almost 75 percent of the people surveyed said they only sit down for a family meal with senior loved ones for special occasions, events or holidays. They say a big part of the problem is time — both not having enough of it and conflicting schedules.
To encourage families to make time for these meals, the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation will donate $1 to Meals on Wheels America (up to $20,000 total through July 31) for each person that commits to regularly scheduling family dinners at www.SundayDinnerPledge.com.
Pledging to have a sit-down dinner with loved ones will help to ensure other seniors will have a quality meal, friendly visit and safety check through the delivered by Meals on Wheels programs across the country, according to Ms. Shea.
“We hope families will make the pledge to either revive or begin new mealtime traditions with their senior loved ones,” Ms. Shea said. “This small commitment can have a big impact on a senior’s wellbeing.”
To help families across the country host their own Sunday dinner, Home Instead Senior Care has partnered with celebrity chef and mother of four Melissa d’Arabian to develop easy, nutritious recipes. Additional resources include tips for how to involve seniors in meal planning and preparation, pre- and post-dinner activities and meal plans for healthy, inexpensive meals that all generations can enjoy.
For these free resources and more information on how to help bring back the Sunday dinner and reconnect with senior loved ones, visit www.SundayDinnerPledge.com, call Home Instead Senior Care at 609-448-7555 or visit www.homeinstead.com/357.
