Famealy Matters for the endearing Filipino parent

Monde Nissin, which began Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga in 2007, an advocacy that reminds Filipino families of the importance of having shared meals together, launches Famealy Matters: 50-Plus Stories of Everyday Intimacy at the Family Dining Table, a book compilation featuring well-known personalities and their stories about sharing memorable meal time moments with their respective families. “Meal times provide opportunities for members of the family to sit around one table, share the same food, and listen to each other’s stories,” says Gen Aquino, Monde Nissin Media and Public Relations Manager. “And because many Filipino families today are guilty for taking such moments for granted, we at Monde Nissin wish to remind them of the joys that come with sharing meals together, through Famealy Matters.” The book compilation contains more than 50 personal meal time stories of prominent personalities from different industries, including Vice President Jejomar Binay and Tourism Secretary Mon Jimenez, religious leaders Archbishop Antonio Tagle and pastor Peter Tan Chi, showbiz celebrities Sharon Cuneta and Kris Aquino, and network tycoons Atty. Felipe L. Gozon of GMA 7, Gabby Lopez of ABS-CBN, and Butch Jimenez of PLDT, among others. From the outrageous topics they talk about with their children to the exotic dishes they’ve tried and tasted together, these personalities tell all as they share what goes on at their dinner tables. Some would opt to prepare the meals themselves; others would prefer to take their children out to different places and experience new cuisines together. A lot of these contributors would admit that with their hectic schedules, sharing meals together becomes quite difficult to achieve, especially with all kinds of social, economic, and technological factors contributing to the decline in the frequency of family dining. Most families have both parents working, with their children busy with school and extracurricular activities, resulting in each family member having to eat in their own time. But whatever it is they do to make their meal time moments more special, these parents make the necessary effort and take time to dine with their children because to them, shared meals are opportunities to reconnect, laugh together, and offer support to each other. It provides the daily solidification of the family unit where each person is recognized and validated. “At the end of it all, it’s nice to know that even these well-known celebrities and personalities go out of their way just to be able to gather their family together and sit down at the dining table,” says Famealy Matters publisher Francis Kong. “Famealy Matters is a touching collection of personal narratives that make us realize how the gratification and benefits we get from sharing meals with the family is worth it.” And it’s also good and timely that last January, President Benigno Aquino III, released Presidential Proclamation 326, which christens every 4th Monday of September every year as Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga day, in support of Monde Nissin’s advocacy that believes in the power of eating together as a simple but effective means for Filipino parents to raise happy, healthy, and successful children.   Famealy Matters: 50-Plus Stories of Everyday Intimacy at the Family Dining Table is available at National Book Store, Powerbooks, or through Anne Cristobal of Success Options Inc. (727-0291, 0920-9253348, or successoptionsinc@yahoo.com). Press release and photo from Monde Nissin Corporation