Are you feeling a bit guilty that you haven’t made the time to visit your senior loved ones recently? You’re not the only one. Powerful new research shows that 50% of families living near senior relatives believe they do not share enough meals with these older loved ones, losing an important family connection. Home Instead Senior Care knows the value of spending time with our aging relatives and encourages families to make time for these meals.

In an effort to drive home the importance of sharing family dinners on a regular basis, Home Instead 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 between now and July 31, 2015, the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation will donate $1, up to $20,000, to Meals on Wheels America to deliver meals to seniors in need nationwide.

To help you be successful, Home Instead has partnered with Food Network celebrity chef Melissa d’Arabian to help promote the importance of regular family dinners. Melissa, along with 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 food plans, other resources available to you are 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.

Sound simple? It is! Even after you’ve had a tough week at work and loads of children’s activities in the evenings, you can do this! 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.

Spring/Summer Food Plans:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5

Fall/Winter Food Plans:

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5

You’ve taken the pledge, now what? To stay on track and ensure success, be organized. With school, work, sports, and other activities, families are busy! Plan the dinner dates in advance, use a shopping list and even include the senior in the planning whenever possible. Whether you’re making an old family favorite meal or trying something new, include your senior relative in the meal planning and preparation as much as possible. Have dad write the grocery list and then shop together – even take this opportunity to help him take care of his grocery shopping for the week.

6 Tips to Stay on Track:

• Stick to your list
• Don’t shop while hungry
• Use coupons to save money
• Stock up on sale items
• Try store brands
• Use your food budget wisely

These are just some, Click here to read more helpful tips.

So, join us and pledge to bring back Sunday dinner with your senior loved ones, and discover how to make the most of being together. While the menu is important, Sunday family dinners should revolve around more than just good food. Worry less about what’s on the plate than who’s at the table. Focus on spending quality time with all generations of your family – sharing meals can help to improve seniors’ quality of life. Take the pledge today!