Why Cooking Is the Best: Part Nine

When we imagine the ways that cooking is (or has the potential to become) a meaningful part of our lives, we aren’t considering energy use or comparative costs. Cooking, whether we’re new to it or not, is about bringing people together. Pick your cliché: gather round the table, break bread together, the hearth is the center of the house, the party’s always in the kitchen, whatever. Sitting down to a meal in the comfort of your home builds bonds; acquaintances become friends become family.

Of course, all families are different; no one thing defines them. But it’s true that when families sit down and eat together, good things happen. According to one Columbia University study, the more often teenagers have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use drugs. Similar studies have linked higher grade point averages and lower rates of depression and suicide to the frequency of family meals. Additionally, an American Medical Association study found that “eating family dinner was associated with healthful dietary intake patterns, including more fruits and vegetables, less fried food and soda, less saturated and trans fat, lower glycemic load, more fiber and micro nutrients from food.” Physically and psychologically healthy kids make for healthier families, and healthy families strengthen communities. No surprises there, really.