<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Family meals are proven to provide social, nutritional, emotional and mental benefits. </em></p><p>By: David Fikes, Executive Director, FMI Foundation, FMI</p><img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/women's-soccer.tmb-large-350-.jpeg?Culture=en&sfvrsn=b43adf2a_1" sf-size="100" alt="women playing soccer" class="-align-right" style="float:right;margin:10px;" /><p>My family actively follows the Washington Spirit, our local professional women’s soccer club. Being an active fan has revealed an interesting learning for me. We adore our Spirit players, and they can do little wrong in our eyes. The flip side of that coin is there are players on the other teams that irritate and frustrate us, usually because they are good and are thwarting a Spirit victory. I lose patience with those “other” players, and it is easy to cheer (jeer?!?) against them when I don’t really know them, and I identify them as a threat. I am not very tolerant of their style of play and will let my displeasure be known. </p><p>However, an interesting phenomenon happens when the women’s national soccer team gets formed -composed of players from across dozens of teams and plays in international friendlies, in the World Cup or in the Olympics. In these scenarios when I’m rooting for the USA team, I find myself getting acquainted with, cheering for and even defending some of the very same players that weeks before were the object of my ridicule, sarcasm and scorn. What causes such a transition and shift in attitude when they are the same player, playing the same game in the same way they were previously? Clearly moving from them from the category of unknown opponent to that of a known teammate casts their play in a new light, helping me appreciate their skills and identify the value they bring in a way I couldn’t before. But what is MOST interesting to me is that after international play is over and these same players return to being on the versus side of the equation, I find I still appreciate them because now I know them. Learning a bit of their story, going on part of their journey with them and hearing some of the obstacles they’ve overcame in their trek to being a professional soccer player makes them a known friend, even if they play for the “other” team. By getting to know them I moved from being AGAINST them to being FOR them even if I want Spirit to win. </p><p>We at FMI and the FMI Foundation believe that all the noted and proven social, nutritional, emotional and mental benefits of family meals can be extended deeper into our communities. We believe that encouraging customers to better get to know their neighbors can move people from being unknown threats to being known and appreciated colleagues. This is why, during September, Family Meals Month, we are encouraging FMI Member companies to take up our challenge to deepen community civility by hosting a neighborhood family meal. The concept is simple, get members of the community together and let the connecting virtue of food do its magic. This can be part of your company’s family meals month activation or can be a separate stand-alone event. </p><p>We’ve provided guidance and resources in our <a href="https://www.fmi.org/family-meals/toolkits/modular-toolkit#:~:text=The%20National%20Family%20Meals%20Month,for%20society%20as%20a%20whole.">Family Meals Modular Toolkit</a> for your use and you will especially want to check out our new <a href="https://www.fmi.org/family-meals/toolkits/table-talk-placemats">Table Talk Placemats</a> for stimulating conversation around the dinner table. Leverage your position as a cornerstone in the community and help lead in restoring civility, neighborliness, and connections in the community you serve. </p><a href="https://www.fmi.org/family-meals-movement" class="button" target="_blank">Get Involved</a>
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