Catholic

Grace Before and After Meals

The short table blessings prayed before and after eating, rooted in the 8th-century Gelasian Sacramentary and still said in Catholic homes today.

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The Oldest Prayer Still Said at the Dinner Table

The traditional Catholic grace before meals traces to the Gelasian Sacramentary, a Roman liturgical book compiled around the 8th century — meaning some version of this exact blessing has been prayed at Catholic tables for well over a thousand years, by monks, popes, and ordinary families alike. It is deliberately short: brief enough to say daily without becoming rote, while still naming the meal as a gift ("thy bounty") rather than something simply owed.

Grace Before Meals

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Grace After Meals

We give thee thanks, almighty God, for these and all thy gifts, which we have received from thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Helper

Both graces are short enough for young children to memorize quickly — a natural starting point for teaching a child to pray at all.
Saying grace both before and after a meal (not just before) is the fuller traditional custom, even though many households only keep the "before" half today.
In a group with mixed traditions or a guest who isn't Catholic, this is often the least awkward prayer to say aloud together — short, familiar in shape, and about gratitude rather than doctrine.

Source

USCCB — Grace Before and After Meals