Photos show how different family meals look in busy homes across America

she-photographed-this-project-specifically-on-monday-through-thursday-nights-i-wanted-to-capture-habits-and-rituals-that-are-shaped-by-the-weeknight-time-crunch-rather-than-the-weekends-when-people-have-more-time-she-said.jpg

Studies have repeatedly shown the benefits of having a set family meal time every day. Research has shown that the benefits are especially pronounced in children, who often show higher achievement scores and are generally more physically fit when they reguarly eat a daily meal with their families.

But what family meal time looks like in each individual household can vary greatly, which is something photographer Lois Bielefeld wanted to explore in her series "Weeknight Dinners."

Bielefeld, who's represented by Portrait Society Gallery, visited 78 households to see how families are sitting down for dinner every night. Focusing on weeknights, when people usually have less free time, she found that there were some major differences in how famillies spent the meal together.

from-picnicking-on-the-floor-to-standing-upright-at-the-counter-while-reading-the-paper-she-found-no-two-households-were-alike.jpg

as-a-child-bielefeld-was-highly-involved-in-her-family-meals-ive-always-loved-food-she-told-business-insider-one-of-my-chores-growing-up-was-to-make-a-weekend-meal-for-the-family-i-could-make-whatever-i-wanted-but-i-needed.jpg

140730emiliorhondafam009 (1).jpg

i-love-to-see-the-similarities-and-differences-in-people-with-a-topic-that-has-commonality--we-all-eat-she-said.jpg

one-thing-that-bielefeld-found-out-early-on-in-the-project-was-that-people-ate-in-many-different-places-in-their-homes.jpg

the-archetype-or-projected-ideal-associated-with-dinner-is-families-eating-at-the-table-she-said-everyone-eats-at-the-same-time-and-eats-the-same-food-this-was-rarely-the-case-during-my-portraits.jpg

about-one-in-five-of-her-subjects-ate-dinner-in-front-of-the-television-which-she-noticed-took-up-the-childrens-attention-fully-when-the-tv-was-on-the-focal-point-was-definitely-the-tv-as-opposed-to-each-other-but-there-wa.jpg

another-observation-bielefeld-made-was-that-in-many-households-different-family-members-would-eat-different-things-it-was-a-way-to-make-mealtime-peaceful-with-different-tastes-she-said.jpg

luckily-for-bielefeld-most-people-she-approached-about-the-project-were-open-to-the-idea-of-participating.jpg

often-when-i-begin-a-new-photo-series-i-reach-out-to-people-i-know-and-sometimes-whom-ive-photographed-before-she-said-as-a-project-progresses-i-start-photographing-strangers-which-i-reach-out-to-in-a-variety-of-ways.jpg

shed-set-up-lights-in-the-home-to-help-illuminate-the-scene-and-ask-the-subjects-to-wait-before-eating-so-that-she-could-take-their-picture.jpg

often-it-was-really-difficult-for-the-kids-to-fathom-not-being-able-to-eat-when-the-food-was-put-before-them-she-said-even-with-the-whole-camera-and-lights-set-up-it-was-still-almost-beyond-them-that-they-had-to-wait-to-ea.jpg

occasionally-her-subjects-would-ask-her-to-join-for-dinner-after-she-was-done-shooting.jpg

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