Get Back to the Table

Top 5 Reasons to Get Back to the Table

Sharing meals is ideal for family bonding! Whether your family dines regularly over breakfast, lunch or dinner, a host of studies show time spent together can reduce drug use, lead to better nutrition, encourage confidence and promote success in the classroom. Libby's canned fruit and vegetables make it easy to pull together quick, convenient and cost-effective meals on a budget so that you can spend less time cooking and more time with your family around the dinner table. Here are five really good reasons why sharing a meal with your family is good for the stomach and the soul.

  1. You Could Get an A+: Research shows that children who eat dinner with their families five or more times a week are more likely to have higher grades in school – regardless of gender, family structure or economic status (1).
  2. It’s Easier to Say No to Drugs: According to the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, frequent family meals have been linked to a lower risk of smoking, drinking and using marijuana. When you spend more time with your kids at the dinner table, it’s easier to spot changes in behavior and develop a better relationship with them (2).
  3. Good Conversation Builds Confidence: Researchers at Emory University found that pre-teens whose parents tell family stories at dinner have higher self-esteem and get along better with their peers during their teen years (3).
  4. Eating at the Table Means Eating Better: A University of Minnesota study found that kids in families who watched TV while eating meals together had a poorer diet than children whose families ate together around a table. Boys who watched TV while eating ate fewer vegetables and grains and drank more soft drinks while girls who watched TV ended up eating fewer dark vegetables and more fried food (4).
  5. It’s Good for Girls: Studies show that teenage girls who ate five or more meals per week with their families were less likely to resort to extreme dieting measures such as self-induced vomiting, diet pills or laxatives. This was true regardless of socioeconomic status, body mass index or family connectedness (5).

Feel like making a family dinner tonight? Check out Libby’s CANvenient Recipe Database for quick and easy ways to make a hearty meal in minutes. Also, check out our Winning Solutions for stretching your grocery dollars from super-savvy mom of seven Hannah Keeley, because Libby’s believes that putting dinner on the table shouldn’t break the bank!


  • 1 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, 2004
  • 2 The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, 2006
  • 3 Emory Center for Myth and Ritual in American Life (MARIAL) at Emory University, 2005
  • 4 The Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, 2004
  • 5 The Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, 2004