My parents grew up in a world where for a meal, or consuming any food, you washed your hands, dressed suitably for the occasion and sat down together with utensils, plates or bowls also suitable to the place and occasion. A meal was a family gathering and social ritual. Mind you, my parents were working class too.
Abandoning these attitudes and rituals is part of the reasons Americans are so obese now.
And abandoning the prayers that often preceded those meals is why public and private morality is in the toilet, too.