After nearly a decade of steady declines, the number of meals prepared at home has increased for the first time since the 1991–92 recession, with slight increases beginning as far back as 1999–2000, according to NPD Group’s 16th and newly released 17th Annual Eating Patterns in America reports. At the same time, Americans are eating fewer meals in restaurants and ordering fewer take-out suppers (see “Fast and Casual: Today’s Foodservice Trends,” Food Technology, September 2002, p. 34). According…