Eating. It’s a Social Thing.

By Randall S. Jones, Aging Partners

During this past COVID year, I’ve changed my lifestyle in many ways. Some of the changes, like working from home, have been enjoyable. Other changes made me realize how important it is to be with friends and family. Now that COVID restrictions are lessoning, it’s exciting to eat out once again. I guess I took it for granted.

I greatly missed those times when I was able to share a meal with my wife or family in a restaurant. Eating has always been a social thing for me. Even as a young adult, my favorite time to talk with friends was over a banana cream pie at The Pantry, or dates over pizza at Val’s. It’s one of those activities that people around the world, in all cultures, enjoy together. We eat and share intimate ideas; discuss and debate contrasting opinions; get insight into the latest news; or talk about the latest baseball standings.

I have friends who have had to eat alone in their homes for months during COVID. One of the loneliest things to do is to eat alone. But the sky is clearing, and we can soon expect to again experience what we’ve been missing.

It can’t be overstated that nutrition plays a key role in our health, especially as we age. Good nutrition helps us stay healthy, helps support good balance, and improves our overall disposition. When you eat with friends or family, you also significantly impact your brain health in a very positive way.

Eating together helps reduce our isolation, it gets us outdoors, and provides an opportunity to share and to support others. It’s amazing the things you learn from others at the table. My parents would tell me that the only time I talked was at the dinner table.

Need a good place to go and socialize and share a meal? Aging Partners provides hot lunches at our eight senior centers in Lincoln and Lancaster County. These centers provide nutritious, senior- friendly meals that really taste good! It provides an opportunity to socialize with others and reduce loneliness. And the cost is very reasonable – for those over age 60, it’s a voluntary contribution.

Aging Partners’ meals are prepared to meet your nutritional requirements. Each meal supplies at least one-third of the U.S. Dietary Reference Intake for older adults. We consider what you eat to be an investment in your overall good health.

So, what do you say? Let’s get social and share secrets at the lunch table. But you have to swear to keep ‘em to yourself!