A Burnaby businessman wants to bring back Sunday dinner after a recent study revealed not enough families are breaking bread with their senior relatives.
Dennis Fancy is the owner of the local branch of Home Instead Senior Care, a company that specializes in providing in-home care services for elders living in both Canada and the U.S.
Half of families living near senior relatives feel they do not share enough meals with their loved ones, according to new research conducted by the company, which surveyed 1,000 households between February 10 and 15.
"It's not a surprising figure because I think with our lives in this era, we seem to be a lot busier than perhaps we were 20 or 30 years ago," Fancy told the NOW.
Forty-five per cent of participants, meanwhile, said the frequency of family meals has decreased since childhood. When it comes to special events like Christmas or Easter, about three-quarters of respondents said they sit down with their senior loved ones.
"That's kind of sad because the study shows that when seniors are able to have some companionship at meal time, they get better nutrition," he added. "I could use my grandma for example. When she's alone, she says she doesn't feel like preparing a proper meal because she says, 'What's the point?'"
Not having family meals together can negatively impact the elderly, according to Fancy, who said meal time is often when seniors take their medication. It also can lead to feelings of social isolation and loneliness, he explained.
So how does one reverse the trend?
Fancy is encouraging everyone to log online and make the commitment at SundayDinnerPledge.ca. The website is full of recipes for easy, inexpensive meals that all ages can enjoy, like the homemade beef taco salad and the fettuccini with egg plant sauce, courtesy of Food Network chef Melissa d'Arabian.
There are also some tips on how to involve seniors in meal planning and preparation.
"Some of our seniors have limited abilities, but including them in the process can be really meaningful and really rewarding to them," the father-of-three noted.
The local resident said when it comes to his family, he tries to practice what he preaches by making sure everyone's at the dinner table every night.
"We feel it's important to unplug, shut off the cell phones, shut off the TV. We'll actually all sit around and talk about the day and hopefully the kids aren't too fussy," he said.
For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, visit www.homeinstead.com/3037.
The local branch is located at 5066 Kingsway.
