Family Day represents a tremendous opportunity for our stores to show their relevance to the consumer. Family Day, while seeking to minimize Drug and Alcohol abuse by young people by encouraging eating more meals at home as a family, could help address the current top-of-mind childhood obesity problem as well.

FMI’s Michael Sansolo writes: “For many of us, [eating at home with families] might seem like a non-event, but for a growing portion of American families it is anything but. The time pressures of modern living have taken a massive toll on America’s eating habits over the past few decades. The supermarket industry knows all too well how this has played out as we’ve seen an increasing share of meals and food spending move annually to fast food, quick serve and other restaurants.

“And increasingly, that move is being questioned. While this could mean an enormous marketing opportunity for the industry, it also presents the possibility of partnering with and helping shoppers on some of their most important family issues.” (Source: FMI/ACNielsen/Lempert E-Newsletter – January 2006)

Marialisa Calta has written a book called “Barbarians at the Plate,” a light-hearted look into the dinner lives of American families, in addition to providing helpful family dinner recipes. The book is targeted at “women, some single, some married, who have a family to feed, at least one job and too little time.” This target is also known as: most grocery shoppers. Rachel Ray is a featured chef on the Food Network (a popular 24-hour Food channel offered on premium cable services) and has a number of books out focusing on healthy, fast eating. One book in particular, “Cooking ‘Round the Clock: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals” would go very well with the Family Day promotion.

Your promotion could involve an end display with ingredients for a featured recipe, and Rachel’s or Marialisa’s books. Don’t forget your kitchen section, incremental sales may also be found in pots, pans, whisks, spoons, etc.

Optionally, you could feature Morgan Spurlock’s DVD “Super size Me,” a contemporary documentary highlighting the dangers of eating out too often. Both of these movements (eating at home, and family meals) can directly increase your sales and give you more contact with your consumers.

This year Family Day will be on Sept 25, and annually on February 25th thereafter.

For more information about “Family Day,” visit the CASA website at www.casafamilyday.org or contact Lach Mullen ((206) 764-7893). I would be happy to run a demographic study on your store(s) to help you determine the number and type of families in your trading area.

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Additional reading on the subject:

FMI/ACNielsen/Lempert E-Newsletter – “F3″ (January 2005)

http://www.factsfiguresfuture.com/archive/january_2006.htm#2

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Supportive Media:

Marialisa Calta – “Barbarians at the Plate”
“Veteran food writer and columnist Marialisa Calta offers advice, strategies, and recipes from families across the country, addressing the peculiar challenges and delights of enjoying dinner as a family.” (Source: Amazon.com)

Rachel Ray – “Cooking ‘Round the Clock: Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Meals”
Rachel Ray – “Rachael Ray’s 30-Minute Get Real Meals: Eat Healthy Without Going to Extremes”
“Once upstate, Rachael managed pubs and restaurants at the famed Sagamore resort on Lake George and was then recruited by Cowan & Lobel, a large gourmet market in Albany, to be its food buyer. Rachael turned the job into dual positions as food buyer and chef. As a way to increase grocery sales during the holidays, Rachael began a series of cooking classes.” (Source: FoodNetwork.com)

Morgan Spurlock – “Super size Me”
“For 30 days he can’t eat or drink anything that isn’t on McDonald’s menu; he must wolf three squares a day; he must consume everything on the menu at least once and supersize his meal if asked…Spurlock’s grueling drive-through diet spirals him into a physical and emotional metamorphosis that will make you think twice…” Source: Amazon.com)

Susan Okie – “Fed Up!: Winning The War Against Childhood Obesity”