Book 2, Question 125
Why Do We Share Food?
Have you ever shared a snack with a friend, and it tasted even better? Sharing food builds the group! A shared meal feeds bodies and belonging at once.
From the book
Page from A Million Whys Book 2
More fun facts
- A 300,000-year-old hearth in Qesem Cave near Tel Aviv is the oldest ever found. People gathered there to eat together.
- Humans have usually cooked together because it saves energy and resources.
- One in four Americans now eats every meal alone, up 53 percent since 2003.
- In Senegal, Gambia, Malaysia and Paraguay, people share 11 or more meals with others each week.
- People in countries where meal sharing is common report more support from others and less loneliness.
- In 1902, explorers in Antarctica made a fancy meal together for Midwinter Day, the shortest day of the year.
Sources: National Geographic, National Geographic
Questions kids ask
Does eating together really help?
Yes. A big world report found that sharing meals is one of the strongest signs of how happy and well people feel.