Oceana County Celebrates National Family Meal Month

HART — District Health Department #10, The Healthy Families of Oceana County Coalition and United Way of the Lakeshore – Oceana County are partnering to celebrate Family Meal Month.

The kickoff event is set for Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 3-6 p.m. at Hansen Foods in Hart. Watch a healthy meal demonstration and receive a free, reusable shopping bag full of information about local resources.

Then, on Monday, Sept. 28, head over to Hart Pizza from 4-8 p.m. for a United We Dine event. For dining as a family at Hart Pizza, customers will receive a reusable shopping bag and 10 percent of the proceeds for the event will go to United Way of the Lakeshore – Oceana County.

National Family Meal Month recognizes and celebrates the positive impact parents have in preventing their children from engaging in substance use and other risky behavior. Research shows children with parents who are ‘hands-on’ and involved in their day-to-day activities and lives are far less likely to smoke, drink or use other drugs.

One study specifically demonstrates the power of Family Dinners. The study compared teens that have frequent dinners with their family (five to seven times per week) to those who have infrequent dinners (less than three per week). Teens whose families are meeting around the dinner table less often are; almost four times likelier to use tobacco, more than twice as likely to use alcohol, two-and-a-half times likelier to use marijuana, and almost four times likelier to say they expect to try drugs in the future.

To celebrate Family Meal Month, District Health Department #10 is teaming up with Healthy Families of Oceana County (HFOC) Coalition and United Way of the Lakeshore – Oceana County.