Thanks to you, the Sunday Dinner Pledge has been a huge success for Home Instead Senior Care and Meals on Wheels America. Just because the program is ending July 31, 2015, doesn’t mean you can’t continue having dinner with your family including senior loved ones on a regular basis. Take advantage of the prepared weekly meal plans, try out the featured recipes created by a Home Instead Senior Care network dietician and Food Network celebrity chef Melissa d’Arabian and most importantly, enjoy the time spent with your family. 

If you’re just hearing about the Sunday Dinner Pledge, it’s not too late! In an effort to drive home the importance of sharing family dinners on a regular basis, Home Instead Senior Care Minneapolis has launched the Sunday Dinner Pledge public education program. By taking this pledge, you are committing to bringing your family together at least once a month for Sunday dinner. For every signed Sunday Dinner Pledge taken before July 31, 2015, the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation will donate $1 (up to $20,000) to Meals on Wheels America who delivers meals to seniors in need nationwide.

To ensure the participating families are successful, Home Instead has partnered with Food Network celebrity chef Melissa d’Arabian to help promote the importance of regular family dinners. Melissa and a dietician for the Home Instead Senior Care network have developed easy, nutritious recipes and healthy food plans. In addition to the healthy recipes and weekly food plans, other resources are available to you such as tips for how to involve seniors in meal planning and preparation, pre- and post-dinner family activities, and many others. We even offer some conversation starters to help ease any awkward moments between the generations at the dinner table.

If you haven’t taken the pledge yet there is still time! To get started, simply click on this link and pledge to have dinner together on a regular basis and include your senior relatives. Home Instead is on a mission to make this a successful public education program and make it easy to follow. The Home Instead Senior Care network has created a variety of healthy meal plans, shopping lists and nutritious recipes to help make preparing dinners together easier for busy families. Refer to the easy-to-use weekly food plans to help you stay on track. The Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter Weekly Food Plans each have 5 weeks of easy and nutritious week-long meal plans, which include full shopping lists, healthy recipes, calorie information and more.

Home Instead has also provided a variety of conversation starters, dinner table activities and even informative articles to read if you’re concerned about your senior loved one. You may already know your elderly loved one faces challenges when it comes to enjoying healthy meals, but there may be more than you think. For example, lack of companionship during mealtimes and cooking for one are just two mealtime obstacles that could impact senior health. Click here to read more of the research conducted for the Home Instead Senior Care network. The website is full of useful tips, articles and information – all right at your fingertips! Check it out!

Although nutrition is important, data from the Home Instead Senior Care survey demonstrates that for most seniors, it’s not what’s on their plate that matters most at mealtime – it’s who is at the table. So, make the commitment to share a sit-down family meal with the multi-generational members of your family at least once a month. It’s a great way to reconnect and build stronger bonds among younger and older family members. Join us and pledge to bring back Sunday dinner with your senior loved ones, and discover how to make the most of being together. Sharing meals with your family in your Minneapolis or St. Paul home on a regular basis can help to improve a seniors’ quality of life. Take the pledge today!