How Friday night dinner overtook Sunday lunch

As founders of National Back To The Table Week, we're always delighted to hear that families are taking our message to heart. So although we were worried by a headline saying that Sunday lunch was in decline in this weekend's Observer, we were heartened to find that Friday night dinner has now become the main family meal of the week.

While just 6m of us sit down to a family Sunday lunch every week, compared to 12.7m in the Sixties, more than twice as many families are making time to eat together on a Friday night than did in the Sixties.

The study by the Future Foundation found there was a marked North/South divide in our family eating habits. 22 per cent of families in south west and south east England, East Anglia and London sat down to eat together on a Sunday, compared with 8.7 per cent of those living in northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the West Midlands.

'Fridays are perhaps the most popular night of the week because they mark the end of the working week,' said Nicola Austin, a director at the Future Foundation. 'That night marks the start of the freedom that the weekend brings, when people really can begin to wind down and enjoy more time with family or friends.'

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