Grab a bite.

• Author: Stewart, Heather Dawn
• Position: From the Editor - National Restaurant Association - Editorial

Did you know most Utahns dine out three or four times a week? I didn't know that, and at first, that figure seemed surprisingly high. But then I thought about my life: on-the-go lunches at work, occasional take-out on the way home from a long day, and quick weekend meals in between errands. OK, so perhaps I dine out more often than the typical "three or four times a week."

That data point comes from Melva Sine, president of the Utah Restaurant Association. Writer Sarah Ryther Francom spoke to Sine for our feature story, "Food for Thought," which details the economic contribution of Utah's restaurant industry. Sine also points out that Utahns eat out much more now than in the past. "Just 10 years ago, only 10 percent of a family's budget was allocated toward dining out. Now 25 percent of a household food budget is used to dine out," she says.

I'm guessing that when I was a child, about .01 percent of my family s food budget was spent on restaurants. My mother made home-cooked meals every night. When we went on trips, she packed Wonder Bread and deli meat to avoid expensive restaurant meals. Eating out--even at McDonald's--was a major event.

My mother, and most of the mothers I knew then, did not work outside the home. (She worked very hard...