'Idaho Family Dinner Night' date set

Be The Parents, the underage drinking prevention campaign of the Idaho Office of Drug Policy, has kicked off an Idaho Family Dinner Night campaign to encourage families across the state to make and enjoy a meal together on September 26th. According to the Center on Addiction, teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to have high-quality relationships with their parents, and teens with high-quality family relationships are much less likely to use alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco. Frequent family dinners are also linked to positive benefits for youth, such as, decreased stress, higher self-esteem, and increased achievement in school.

To help parents celebrate, Be the Parents is offering a free printable recipe guide (http://bit.ly/2krGcdi ) and placemat (http://bit.ly/2lZuIxM ) with fun activities. The recipe guide contains easy, budget-friendly meal ideas from chefs and nutritionists from around Idaho.

Over 17,000 hard copy recipe guides and placemats are being distributed through the Idaho Foodbank and other partners, including ODP grantees.

Be the Parents encourages participating families to share their family dinner photos on social media with the hashtag #IdahoFamily DinnerNight.

“While we’re celebrating Idaho Family Dinner Night on Sept. 26, any night can be family dinner night,” ODP Administrator Melinda Smyser said.

Information: Be the Parents, betheparents.org