By: Cathy Polley, RPh, Vice President, Health & Wellness, FMI & Executive Director, FMI Foundation 

As we hope you’ve heard by now, the food retail industry is celebrating the first annual National Family Meals Month™ this September. Every September grocers in communities nationwide will come together to raise consumer awareness of the many benefits of sharing mealtime and the varied programs and services being offered to help shoppers share more meals at home 365 days of the year. National Family Meals Month™ is part of a larger family meals movement led by grocers and food manufacturers who know that what’s good for the health of our nation’s families can also be very good for business.

The FMI Foundation is proud to see a growing number of FMI retailer and associate members join the family meals movement by pledging their commitment to helping families share one more meal at home per week. Chief among these supporters is FMI retailer member, Kings Food Markets, whose enthusiasm for fresh, convenient, healthy meal options shines through in their approach to family mealtime solutions. In anticipation of National Family Meals Month™, we interviewed Executive Chef Bill Hedge to get a preview of what we can expect to see from Kings Food Markets this September. Looking beyond September, Chef Hedge shared valuable information about the ways Kings Food Markets connects with their shoppers on mealtime solutions every day of the year.

When we asked why Kings Food Markets is investing in family meal solutions, Chef Hedge explained, “We want our shoppers to be inspired by moments in our store when the freshest ingredients, rarest food finds and passions for cooking come together to create the perfect meal for their families.” Chef Hedge went on to say, “We recognize our busy shoppers’ fast-paced lives and desire for healthy eating and family time, which is why we provide convenient, healthy meal options every day.”

Providing convenient, healthy meal options isn’t the only way Kings Food Markets demonstrates their commitment to helping shoppers achieve better health through better nutrition. By offering customers free nutrition consultations at store events, Kings Food Markets has become a trusted community resource for healthy meal planning ideas and inspiration. During National Family Meals Month™ this September, they’ll continue this tradition by offering nutritional workshops and hands-on cooking classes at their Short Hills (NJ) Cooking Studio. They’ll also be raising campaign awareness throughout September in weekly circulars and through featured content on www.KingsFoodMarkets.com and social media channels using campaign hashtags #FamilyMealsMonth and #RaiseYourMitt. From our interview with Chef Hedge, it’s clear to see why Kings Food Markets is succeeding with busy shoppers and helping bring mealtime back to the family table. To quote the Chef, “Kings Food Markets is where inspiration strikes.”

Follow Kings Food Markets on Facebook and @KingsFoodMkts this September to see how they’re taking family meal promotions to the next level. As the association of food retailers and the creators of National Family Meals Month™, FMI and the FMI Foundation will be hard at work promoting our industry’s efforts. We hope you’ll track with us by following us on Facebook and @FMI_ORG.