Yup, I think we realized it was in the update.

Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Not having to babysit the feeding part of the game was one of the main factors that made me like this more than VV and is what allowed me to enjoy daily advancements even though I am not able to play the game as often as others.

It totally changed the dynamic of the game for me and once again made it a game like VV where I can only enjoy the advancements on the weekends.

I don't know why it was needed; I often saw my families prepare meals before, and even "calling children to dinner". I have one family out of 5 who does it on their own and it's not from anything I've done; it just started happening with the change.
As for the others, even though I *did* see them preparing meals on their own before, I don't now; I have to initiate it.

Also, it takes more than one sitting to get full, even if the bar was more than 1/2 full before the meal; that's pretty tedious.

Just my .02.

Adding to comment above: the only family that fixes their own meals now is the family started after updating with .04.