As a kid, my father urged me to join the “Clean Your Plate” Club. That is – I was required to eat every last grain, crumb and dollop that I’d been served for dinner. Membership was mandatory and it related to everyone in my house who had a meal. Given that I was an only child – that pretty much meant me. I recall being pressed to clean my plate on a regular basis. That inspired me – when helping myself to the usual dinner fare – to take smaller portions. So I could successfully “clean my plate.”

Today, I’m not sure if many families have a “Clean Your Plate” Club. From what I’ve read, such a protocol might actually lead to eating disorders and obesity in children. While there may have been some level of merit back in the day in insisting a child “clean their plate,” for me – what is more meritorious – is to encourage children (and adults) to “take” only what they can eat. Better to go light on the helpings – and opt for seconds – than to fill a plate and leave half of it for the garbage.

Today – we read that 25,000 people in the world die each day of starvation or related causes. And two billion individuals suffer from food insecurity at any given time (Source: United Nations Chronicle). For me, this is all the more reason to buy food that we need, use food that we buy and eat the food on our plates. Donna and I now support local and national food depositories. We are at the point that when we go out for dinner, we share a salad and often share a main course. And take home what we don’t eat. Oh and dessert? That’s another matter entirely . . . . .