This TIME Magazine article is crazy old – from June 2006 – but it’s still interesting. It tells the time-honored story of how good it is for the family to eat together. The data is clear: a) kids are healthier, happier and better students when they eat as a family, b) The parents basically feel like they are being good parents and are actually connecting for a few minutes, c) Everyone gets to catch up of the day’s events, tell jokes, whatever.
But it seems like all the discourse is around the social benefits – the benefits of human beings in relationship – rather than on the benefits of sharing THE FOOD ITSELF. The same food. And this is where I think something powerful is also happening, particularly in the context of today’s hyper-individualized American food culture.
First of all, Fast Food in America is magnificently oversupplied. The main drag has become our pantry and the pantry is forever stock full of everything you can possibly imagine. You can just cruise until you find what you need. As a family, this is profoundly helpful because you no longer have to find compromise meals anymore. One kid likes nuggets, the other likes Chinese rice, and Dad’s feeling Mexican. Forget cooking: you don’t even need to order the same thing. Everyone is happy: pick and choose and bring it home.
But this is true of grocery, not just of Fast Food. The freezer and fridge are packed with options that you and the kids can immediately act upon. Especially on days when you’re tired, it’s every man for himself. You have the physical and emotional need; you hit that spot, bam. (Trader Joe’s is the master of this: it’s like a international version of McDonald’s, Panda Express and Taco Bell all rolled up into one).
Our family manages to sit down together 2-3 times week and it’s always awesome. Awesome for the social reasons above, yes, but also because we are eating the exact same thing. It seems like something deeply primal and satisfying happens when you are breaking (the same) bread together. There is an alignment, a synchronicity. As the family Chef, it’s simple: I’m making love, actually producing love for my family, and expressing it through food. And everyone around the table feels it. They are receiving the love. It’s not the same when everyone’s eating something different.
The implications for brands are twofold. You can clearly row in the direction that the boat is going by offering even more individualized options. But you can also create new ways for families and any group to experience that feeling of an actual shared meal.
