Bethpage, NY (PRWEB) September 30, 2016
King Kullen is proud to celebrate National Family Meals Month this September. National Family Meals Month is a movement started by the Food Marketing Institute Foundation in 2015, encouraging families to share one more meal together each week. The goal is to raise awareness of the positive benefits that sharing family meals provides. According to the Food Marketing Institute, home-cooked meals nourish the spirit, brain and health of all family members. Not to mention, people who frequently cook at home eat fewer, healthier calories.
Some of the benefits of eating more home-cooked family meals include the following:
- Improves health and wellness of children and adolescents
- Heavily influences children’s long-term health
- Decreases consumption of carbohydrates, sugar and fat
- Establishes healthier dietary and eating patterns
- Fights obesity
- Strengthens families
Regular family meals are also linked to outcomes that everyone wants for their children, such as higher grades and self-esteem, healthier eating habits and less risky behavior. A recent study* shows that children who grow up sharing meals as a family are more likely to exhibit positive behavior as adults, such as sharing, fairness and respect.
King Kullen knows that juggling jobs, kids and the demands of a busy, modern life often come at the expense of family mealtime at home. As the area’s local grocer, King Kullen offers the solution to mealtime dilemmas.
According to the Food Marketing Institute Foundation, 90 percent of families wish they could have more meals together and 81 percent of parents buy food with minimal prep time and less clean-up because time is limited. King Kullen provides a solution, in offering an ever-expanding assortment of products that take the stress out of planning and preparing family meals: pre-prepped fresh ingredients, delicious ready-made entrees, wholesome heat-and-eat dishes and more. They make it easy for their customers to enjoy more family meals together, even on busy weeknights.
According to Hartman Group, 63 percent of Americans decide what to eat less than an hour before eating. Take a trip to King Kullen on the way home from work and visit the deli department for a fresh and warm rotisserie chicken (available in three flavors), a slice of traditional or turkey meatloaf, baked ziti or vegetable lasagna. Serve with any one of their salads or pre-prepped side dishes. Deli Director Al Spinazzola explains that side dish options include lemon-roasted carrots, Brussels sprouts with bacon, and herb-roasted potatoes. The Deli Department is also offering more nutritious grain-based salads, as a healthy alternative to traditional mayonnaise-based salads. These new salads include Pesto Farro, Citrus Tabouleh, and Harvest Wheatberry. King Kullen also has pre-diced vegetables in the Produce Department, such as pre-cut sweet potatoes, pre-cut squash, peppers, onions and more, to throw together a quick side dish or stir fry.
Meat and Seafood Director Al Gerrity explains that both departments are offering pre-marinated or pre-seasoned meat and seafood options. Flavors include garlic and herb, mojito lime, Montreal seasoning, honey mustard, rotisserie, chipotle cinnamon and many more. These flavors are offered on any cut of beef, poultry or pork, as well as any piece of seafood. The Meat Department also offers other pre-prepared entrees, such as boneless stuffed pork chops, Chicken Valentino, kabobs and more.
The “Meals to Go” option is ever expanding, with grab-and-go options such as Poached Salmon with Dill, Linguini with Clam Sauce, Balsamic Grilled Chicken Caprese, Penne ala Vodka, Chicken Parmigiana, Lobster Rigatoni, Vegetable Lasagna and more packaged and ready to go in containers that are safe for both the oven and microwave.
A final easy grab-and-go option for Family Meal Month is King Kullen’s expanded line of private label soups, with flavors including Broccoli Cheddar, Lobster Bisque, Lentil, Chicken Noodle and Shrimp and Corn Chowder. They pair deliciously with store-baked signature baguettes, and are perfect to share around the family dinner table.
About the Company:
Headquartered in Bethpage, New York, King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc. is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as America’s first supermarket. Michael J. Cullen opened the doors of King Kullen in 1930. Today, four generations later, King Kullen is still family owned and operated. It remains a leader in the supermarket industry. From that very first store in 1930, King Kullen today operates 34 supermarkets and five Wild by Nature stores across Long Island. In addition to traditional grocery, King Kullen features a large catering and prepared foods department, freshly-baked breads and sweets, and healthy and organic areas, with pharmacies in many stores as well.
*De Backer, C.J. (2014). “Our” Food Versus “My” Food. Investigating the Relation Between Childhood Shared Food Practices and Prosocial Behavior in Belgium. Appetite, 84 (January 2015).