Southwest News Media | Eat. Talk. Connect! Bluff Creek students revisit family meal-time campaign with gusto
By day they're known as Alexis Hanson, Carson Halloway, and Jeremiah Pierson. But at dinner time, they're the Super Heroes of the Dinner Table. These Bluff Creek third graders are on board to encourage families to eat more meals together.
By Unsie Zuege
It was such a good idea the first time around, the kids at Bluff Creek Elementary Schools decided to do it again, this time as their school-wide service project.
Once again, area families are encouraged to gather around the family dining table to "Eat, Talk, and Connect!" Bluff Creek has designated Wednesday, March 24, as "Family Dinner Day." Students spent the past two months making reminder cards to distribute to families, and wrote letters to area city officials and community organizations urging them to promote and support Family Dinner Day. On Monday night, Chaska Mayor Mark Windschitl read a proclamation at City Council making it official in Chaska.
Almost five years ago, the Carver County Health Partnership and Ridgeview Medical Center teamed up to address health issues in four areas: Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs; Children's Mental Health; Senior Commission; and Workplace Wellness.
In September of that year, the Health Partnership and Ridgeview kicked off a county-wide initiative called "Eat, Talk, Connect!" Families, businesses, local organizations, churches were encouraged to help promote the importance of families sitting down together at the evening dinner table several times a week.
At the time, Renee Wixon, a facilitator with the Health Partnership, said the initiative came from studies that show that kids who eat meals with their families have much less drug and alcohol use. The time spent sharing a meal encouraged parents and children to better communicate with one another and strengthen family connections.
In 2007, the Minnetonka School District followed suit, initiating a similar campaign in its schools. "It's not a nutrition program," Wixon had pointed out. "It's about families spending together and parents sharing their values with their kids." The program is not just about sharing mealtime with immediate family but to also extend invitations to extended family and to seniors who live nearby.
According to Anna Edlund, a teaching specialist at Bluff Creek Elementary, the school selects a service project each year. This year, it chose to bring back Eat.Talk.Connect! and designate Family Dinner Day.
In addition to encouraging students and their families to make family meals a priority, students worked on projects like making placemats, invitations and even took a field trip where they made biscuit mix to take home for a family meal.
"Our family tries hard to eat meals together every day because it promotes conversation, quality time together, and healthier eating," Bluff Creek parent Jaci Mrosko, emailed to the Villager. "Therefore, we have felt that Eat.Talk.Connect. was a fantastic program from the beginning.
"Not only does it fit in well with our lifestyle, but it has helped get our kids more involved in the meal preparation and conversation. Our second-grade son cooked the entire meal one evening and was excited to share what he made with our family as well as show pictures of the event to his classmates.
"Both our second-grader and fifth-grader like to help with cooking, and in doing so, they are also more likely to eat what they fix. Eat, Talk, Connect! has just been a good incentive to make that happen more often.
"In addition, we have had fun with the conversation starters because they guide us in talking about both fun and serious topics that might not otherwise come up during dinner. We believe Eat. Talk. Connect! is a great way to help families stay connected, and give everyone in the family a vested interest in mealtimes, conversations and each other."
Why I like it!
Bluff Creek Elementary specialist Anna Edlund asked second and third grade students what they liked about EAT.TALK.CONNECT! Here'are their comments.
I have been studying Eat.Talk.Connect! I have been eating with my family all the time now except when my dad or mom is on a trip. I really enjoy Eat.Talk.Connect! because now I get to eat with my family. I am serious about it because I know that TV is bad for your eyes but you can watch it sometimes. Eat.Talk.Connect! is great!
I like it when my family eats together. We can talk about what happened at school or work. I also like it because we can share stories.
I made a dinner for Eat. Talk. Connect! and we liked it. I made a Power Point to show my dinner. My teacher liked it so much that she gave it to Ms. Edlund. I was proud. She showed it at Hooked On Books. It was very fun making biscuit mix at our school.
I think Eat. Talk. Connect! is a good idea because you can eat together more often. Eat. Talk. Connect. was very fun.
With Eat.Talk.Connect! we eat out less and we make more meals together. We have more conversatons at the dinner table. Eat.Talk.Connect. was fun for my family.
My family eats dinner together every night. We eat healthy foods. Every night we eat vegetables like carrots and broccoli. My family learns more about each other because we talk about our day. My mom asks us vocabulary and about our behavior.
My dad talks to us about our day and what we are going to do on the weekend. All five kids have to set the table and we all have to clear the table. And we all have to use our best table manners like no elbows on the table and sit up straight. That is what my family does at the dinner table.
My favorite part of eating with my family is when we hand out table topics. Table topics are cards that have conversation starters on them so we talk and learn more about each other's childhood. We got them for my dad's birthday. That is my favorite part of eating with my family.
My favorite thing about eating with my family is that Mom and I get to see Dad. We talk about school, video games, the future, and I ask them questions. After dinner we do "Movie Nights" and play board games and things like that.
I enjoy eating with my family. I like talking to my parents and my sister. We might even decide to watch a movie or play a game after dinner. My favorite dinner was when we had pancakes and waffles.
My favorite meal of the year is on my birthday. That is my favorite because I get to choose if I want to stay home and eat or go out to eat. I also get to choose where to go or what to eat. Also I like my sister Emma's birthday. I like hers because we always get to eat tacos! Yum, yum, yum. Those are my favorite meals of the year.
My favorite part of eating with my family is that every time we eat together we always have a very healthy dinner. Here is why I say that. When it was my Mom's birthday, we all ate together and we had steak, rice and broccoli. The night before that, we ate spaghetti, salad and asparagus. The food was great. That is my favorite part about family dinners.
I have made a dessert with my mom. My mom helped me and we made yummy red velvet cake. It turned out very delicious. I like making desserts for Eat.Talk.Connect. because I can do it with my family!
I enjoy eating with my family. I learn more about my relatives and my parents. We talked about what we were going to do for spring break. One time when my brother had a friend over, the dog ate his pizza. That's why I like to eat with my family.
I enjoy eating with my family. Most of the food that my mom and dad make is amazing. One time we were having mac and cheese with hamburgers. I said I didn't like it. When I tried it, I loved it. It is not the best thing they make though. The best thing they make is sausage with potatoes and green beans. That is why you should try new foods to eat with your family.
I have helped with many chores. I have made our family dinner more enjoyable. I have helped take the dishes out of the dishwasher, set the table, and I have even helped with the food. That is how I make our dinner time better.
I enjoy eating with my family. We get to talk and tell stories, jokes, songs, and stuff we do at school! Sometimes dinner can get out of hand really fast because my parents talk too much. After dinner, I get the ice cream out and scoop a cone for everyone. Once I finish my cone I watch television or a movie with my family. I always make the popcorn because I am very generous. After we watch television or a movie I snuggle with my mom and fall asleep.
I have helped make a dessert. One day on my mom's birthday, my sisters McKenna, Haley, Skylar, and I woke up really early. We always make breakfast for everyone in my family. Instead of making my mom breakfast, we made her a cake!
We got the cake mix out and put all the ingredients in a bowl. Then we started to bake the cake. While the cake was baking, my sisters and I started to make the frosting. We colored the frosting yellow because that's my mom's favorite color, but instead of it turning yellow, it turned green! When the cake was done baking we put the frosting and candles on the cake.
Then we lit the candles and brought the cake to my mom. When she woke up we sang happy birthday to her. Later on, at dinner time we ate the cake for dessert. Everyone said it was delicious!
My sister, my mom and I got to make a recipe called Blonde Brownies. I got to crack the eggs, pour in brown sugar and other things. Once the brownies were done, we ate some. A few of the words I heard were 'fantastic,' 'stupendous.' This is the reason why I love Eat.Talk.Connect.
I have made dinner before. I was the only one making it. It was a snack for dinner. Actually, my mom told me what to put in the food. They were muffins. So I hope every body is excited for March 24. Go Eat.Talk.Connect!
Eat.Talk.Connect! has been very cool. I washed the dishes after lunch with Aidan. It was very awesome. We made a tower with the dishes after we washed them. Then we put them away with my family. After that we ate dinner. Baily would eat her food and we would eat ours. After dinner, we put the dishes in the dish washer. We had enough for one day.
I have made dinner. My mom helped me. It turned out wonderful. I made name tags, got a menu, an apron and pencil, notebook. I pretended my dad was at a restaurant. I was the waiter, Mom was the cook, and Will was the entertainer. I made my dad a fruity dessert, too. A strawberry in the middle, apples and oranges, bananas, too.
I have helped my family make my biscuits. My mom helped me and they turned out fantastic! I had to have three. They were that good. My family also loved them! So that was an exciting moment.
I have done one chore that has helped my family. It is doing the dishes. My mom was surprised because she did not know I was doing the dishes. Dad was also surpised when I did the dishes. They were all shiny and clean, no food or stains. That is one way that I helped my family.
I enjoy eating with my family because I get to talk about their day at school or work. Another reason I enjoy eating with my family is my mom and dad can tell stories about when they were young. Like when my dad livied on the farm and they had cows. I think he had to do chores. Sharing stories is why I like Eat.Talk.Connect.
At Bluff Creek Elementary the second grade and third grade have been doing Eat.Talk.Connect. They have made many things. They made placemats and sentence starters and chef hats and even made biscuit mix. Eat.Talk.Connect. is about spending time with family at dinner time like using the sentence starters. Or you could make the biscuit mix with your family.
I love Eat.Talk.Connect! My name is Matthew Maus. I'm in second grade and 8 years old. Our school made biscuit mix and made it at our houses.
I enjoy eating with my family. I get to talk to my family and learn about each other's day. I also helped make dinner. My brother and me ended up getting compliments. My dog was whining that she didn't get any of the yummy food. For once, I felt great camaraderie between my family and me. My favorite memory was when I made a bunch of chocolate cupcakes for my birthday. We frosted them with chocolate frosting. Everyone tasted one before my birthday party. That is why I enjoy eating with my family.
One of my favorite times to eat in the year is Christmas. I like Christmas dinner the most because my whole family comes together and we eat while bonding. Sometimes friends come and spend it with us. That is my favorite time of the year to eat with family and friends.