Family dinners plummet in popularity, as 45 per cent eat together LESS now than decade ago

This is due to time spent planning what to eat, waiting for family members to get home, or work commitments leading into the evening.

A fifth of workers say they only leave their job on time for dinner twice a week or less.

It also emerged the perfect dinnertime would be 6:28pm, but only 40 per cent manage this on a daily basis.

And people typically eat alone on two days a week – for 17 per cent, this is a daily occurrence – while families manage just four evenings around the table together.

It also takes just 34 minutes to make a meal nowadays, with 23 per cent prioritising the speed of a dish over anything else.

The research follows the launch of the "HelloFresh Kitchen Orchestra", which saw the meal kit brand partner with Strictly Come Dancing’s La Voix and The London Vegetable Orchestra to perform a tune entirely played on vegetables and kitchen utensils.

With "home-grown" instruments including carrot recorders, potato flutes and butternut squash horns, the unique ensemble performed a jingle encouraging people to go home for the day.

A rallying cry for families to make time for dinner, the tune was performed at 5.00pm in front of commuters on the South Bank in London, signalling home time and, more importantly, dinner time.

Mimi Morley, senior recipe development manager for the meal kit brand, said: "They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but they’re all vital.

"When you’ve had a long day of work, parenting or anything else, a proper meal at the end of it is often what keeps a lot of people going.

"But there are barriers to not only how often we eat together as families, but the times we get to do so."

Despite many not eating with others as often as they would like, 47 per cent think doing so can build stronger relationships and bonds.

While 39 per cent believe it can make meals more enjoyable and less routine, with people to talk to over them.

And 84 per cent believe it’s important for people to eat together with others, be they family, friends or flatmates, as 31 per cent typically feel stressed about finding the time to cook and eat on a weeknight, according to the OnePoll.com figures.

Ms Morley added: "Nobody should get stressed when trying to get a meal on the table, whenever that might be.

"Little changes like meal planning earlier in the week or even quicker solutions can help resolve some of these issues.

"It’s important not to let meals start to feel like routine, so people can truly enjoy what they’re eating, and who they’re eating it with."

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