By India McCarty
HGTV’s Ben and Erin Napier say their new brand partnership with Bob’s Red Mill is all about togetherness.
“[Our] pantry actually has a lot of Bob’s stuff in it,” Ben told Parade of the couple’s involvement with the grain company’s latest campaign, “Moregetherness.”
According to the Bob’s Red Mill website, “Moregetherness” is all about “the joy of creating deeper connection by sharing food together,” and celebrating “neighbors, friends, and communities making good times with homemade food.”
Related: Erin Napier Says Young People are ‘Struggling to Communicate’ Due to Social Media Use
The company conducted a survey and found that, “in the last year, over half (54%) of Americans have baked or made food to share with their neighbors, and 55% have had a neighbor do the same for them.”
They continued, “Not surprisingly, these same people most often reported that they are ‘never lonely’ (53%) and that another benefit is ‘strengthened trust and relationships’ in the neighborhood (56%).”
“That’s just rural America, baby. We give food to our neighbors,” Erin told Parade. “I think it’s a part of rural America, we have to watch out for each other. And take care of each other and think of each other. Loneliness is an epidemic. But also life is just a lot easier if you feel like there’s somebody that cares that lives near you.”
The couple also encouraged people to celebrate National Good Neighbor Day on Sept. 28, with Ben saying, “Bake something or cook something to take it to your neighbor.”
Erin told Southern Living, “It’s the gift of time that we really give our people when we take them food, you know? You didn’t have to take your time to shop and cook and make this. I did this for you.”
“We are more connected than ever, and yet, at the same time, we’ve never been less connected,” Ben explained, with Erin adding, “We’re substituting. We’re letting [smartphones] pass as human connection and it’s not.”
The Napiers often speak about their commitment to keeping their daughters off of screens and social media until they’re much older, hoping to encourage them to make real-life connections with other people.
“A lot of people are like, ‘You’re so naive,’ for thinking we can keep our kids off of social media and away from cell phones. But it’s not a forbidden fruit thing,” Erin wrote in an essay for TODAY. “We don’t intend to ever treat it that way for our girls.”
She continued, “What we intend to teach them is that you can live the most incredible life, and you can do and see and be anything in the world, if you are not tethered to something fake…This is us teaching our children: You deserve more. And you are capable of a whole lot more if you can skip social media and cell phones until you’re older.”
The Napiers’ new partnership with Bob’s Red Mill and their “Moregetherness” campaign perfectly aligns with the couple’s mission to encourage people to connect in real life.
Read Next: Erin and Ben Napier to Help Parents Raise Children Without Social Media
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