"eating together" news and stories

According to a few recent studies in the U.K., fewer and fewer households own or use dining tables for family meals. Roughly one third of the 1,000 people surveyed by vegetarian food and book purveyor Cranks said that their dining tables were used only for holiday meals such as Christmas dinner. The Cranks survey also found that nearly a quarter of households don't even have a dining table. Sales of dining room furniture have dropped eight percent in the last five years, according to study by market research group Mintel. In the same time period, sales of bedroom and home office furniture have both increased by roughly 40 percent.

Many attribute this shift from eating at the table to factors such as higher divorce rates, smaller apartments and fast-paced, job-oriented schedules that require meals to be eaten on the move.

The Daily Times has more, as does News24.