The dinner manager: 82% of families have one parent calling the shots

Eight in ten American households have one parent who runs the household’s meal-planning operations.A new survey of 2,000 parents of school-aged children found that 82% of families have a default dining manager who handles meal planning, shopping and cooking.Commissioned by EveryPlate and conducted by Talker Research, the survey found that moms are most likely to hold the title — 71% of moms polled say they handle the decision of what meals to make each week, compared to just 58% of dads.The mental load can be difficult to share — 69% said it’s often easier to handle meal planning and preparation themselves than to delegate it to someone else.For many parents, the start of the school year only adds to the pressure.Fifty-six percent said the mental load of managing meals feels somewhat or significantly greater during the back-to-school season.Parents reported spending an average of 37 minutes per day on deciding what to make (18.4) and creating the grocery list (18.5) before they’ve touched a single ingredient.

When factoring in cooking and cleanup, the full dinner operation consumes nearly two hours (115 minutes) of a parent’s day.Meals are always top of mind, as 85% of respondents said they think about what to make for dinner even when they are not actively cooking or planning.The mental load also comes with an emotional toll: respondents associate meal management with stress (30%), overwhelm (25%) or burnout (21%).Moms carry a heavier load — 23% reported experiencing burnout compared to 14% of dads.“The primary meal manager in most households is running a full restaurant operation every night.

It’s not just the cooking that wears parents down; it’s the constant stream of decisions, planning, and coordination that begins long before dinner even reaches the table.When the planning, shopping, cooking, and cleanup all fall to one person, even the most dedicated household chef eventually hits a wall,” said Benjamin Grebel, senior culinary develo...