Save the Date on September 26, 2011 to Celebrate with The J.M. Smucker Company, CASA Columbia* and Your Family

Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™

News provided by

Sep 22, 2011, 08:44 ET

ORRVILLE, Ohio, Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Schedule time on the family calendar on September 26, 2011 to create memorable meals and moments to celebrate Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™. The J.M. Smucker Company is continuing its partnership with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia), to remind parents that frequent family meals are a simple and effective tool to help strengthen families.

Parents can look forward to Family Day to share good food and conversations with their children and make family mealtime part of their every day traditions. In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today. Her book cites research that states families who eat together and share in the preparation of family meals become stronger families with smarter, healthier and happier children.

"Family dinner also promotes better grades, fosters good relationships with parents and builds memories that last a lifetime," said Miriam Weinstein. Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company added, "As a company, we're proud to sponsor Family Day, which began as a grass roots movement and has since turned into a national celebration."

Successful family meals begin with an idea and a little planning. Parents can visit www.poweroffamilymeals.com where they'll find recipes, videos and inspirational mealtime gathering ideas from CASA Columbia to get their Family Day celebration started. Tip examples include:

Encourage your children to create menu ideas and participate in meal preparation.
Establish a routine to start and end each meal. Light candles or tell a story.
After dinner play a board game or serve dessert to encourage the family to continue the conversation.

Family Day is a national movement to bring to light the importance of family dinners and the power of family meals. For more information and to pledge to be a part of the movement visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.

About The J.M. Smucker Company

For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker's®, Folgers®, Dunkin' Donuts®, Jif®, Crisco®, Pillsbury®, Eagle Brand®, R.W. Knudsen Family®, Hungry Jack®, Cafe Bustelo®, Cafe Pilon™, White Lily® and Martha White® in the United States, along with Robin Hood®, Five Roses®, Carnation®, Europe's Best® and Bick's® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. The Company has appeared on FORTUNE Magazine's list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in the United States 13 times, ranking number one in 2004. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except Pillsbury, the Barrelhead logo and the Doughboy character are trademarks of The Pillsbury Company, LLC, used under license; Carnation is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A., used under license; and Dunkin' Donuts is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder, LLC, used under license. Borden and Elsie are trademarks used under license.

About CASA Columbia

CASA Columbia is the only national organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat abuse of all substances—alcohol, nicotine, illegal, prescription and performance enhancing drugs—in all sectors of society. Founded in 1992 by former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA Columbia and its staff of some 60 professionals aim to inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance abuse and its impact on their lives, find out what works in prevention and treatment of this disease, and remove the stigma of substance abuse and replace shame and despair with hope.

CASA Columbia has issued 75 reports and white papers, published three books, conducted demonstration programs focused on children, families and schools in 36 states and Washington, D.C., held 19 conferences, and has been evaluating drug and alcohol treatment and prevention programs to determine what works best for what individuals. The most recent CASA book, How To Raise a Drug Free Kid: The Straight Dope for Parents by Joseph A. Califano, Jr., a practical, user friendly book of advice and information for parents, is widely available in paperback. For more information visit www.casacolumbia.org

*The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University is neither affiliated with, nor sponsored by, the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (also known as "CASA") or any of its member organizations with the name of "CASA."

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company