Celebrate Memorable Meals and Moments this Family Day -- A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™

ORRVILLE, Ohio, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bringing family members together to share memorable meals and moments is a simple and effective tool to help strengthen one of the basic foundations of life: the family.  That is why The J.M. Smucker Company is proud to sponsor Family Day on September 24, 2012 and continue its partnership with The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASAColumbia™).

"The J.M. Smucker Company strongly believes in the power of the family meal and the tremendous impact that eating together as a family can have on individuals, families and the communities in which they live," said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company. "Around the family table children learn life lessons, important traditions are established and family members connect in ways that will last a lifetime."

Parents can look forward to Family Day as a time to share good food and conversations with their children.  In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein illustrates how the basic human institution of mealtime helps nourish and strengthen our families today. Her book cites research showing that families who eat together and share in the preparation of family meals become stronger families with smarter, healthier and happier children.

Successful family meals begin with a little planning. Parents can visit www.poweroffamilymeals.com to get their Family Day celebration started.  Families can find recipes, videos and inspirational mealtime gathering ideas from CASAColumbia. Tips include:

• Turn off the TV and other distracting devices during dinnertime.
• Talk about what happened in everyone's day: school, work, extracurricular activities or current events.
• Keep conversation positive and make sure that everyone gets a chance to speak.

Family Day is a national movement to bring to light the importance of family dinners and the power of family meals. For more information and to pledge to be a part of the movement visit www.CASAFamilyDay.org.

About The J.M. Smucker Company
For more than 110 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments.  Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of fruit spreads, retail packaged coffee, peanut butter, shortening and oils, ice cream toppings, sweetened condensed milk, and health and natural foods beverages in North America. Its family of brands includes Smucker's^®, Folgers^®, Dunkin' Donuts^®, Jif^®, Crisco^®, Pillsbury^®, Eagle Brand^®, R.W. Knudsen Family^®, Hungry Jack^®, Cafe Bustelo^®, Cafe Pilon^®, White Lily^® and Martha White^® in the United States, along with Robin Hood^®, Five Roses^®, Carnation^® and Bick's^® in Canada. The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit www.smuckers.com.

The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks, except for the following which are used under license:  Pillsbury^®, the Barrelhead logo and the Doughboy character are trademarks of The Pillsbury Company, LLC; Carnation^® is a trademark of Societe des Produits Nestle S.A.; Dunkin' Donuts^® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder, LLC; and Douwe Egberts^® and Pickwick^® are registered trademarks of Sara Lee/DE B.V.  Borden^® and Elsie are also trademarks used under license.

About CASAColumbia
CASAColumbia is a science-based, multidisciplinary organization focused on transforming society's understanding of and response to the disease of addiction.  Founded in 1992 by Former US Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASAColumbia assembles the professional skills needed to research, prevent, treat and eliminate this disease.  CASAColumbia conducts its own research and also utilizes the scientific findings of others to inform Americans of the economic and social costs of substance use and addiction in all sectors of society and its impact on their lives.  CASAColumbia aims to reduce the stigma attached to this disease and replace shame with hope.   For more information www.casacolumbia.org

SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company