feeding mikey

i don't know if all parents of children who have autism have this problem.. but for us mealtime is struggle and always has been. so i am really giving a good try to get mikey to actually sit down and eat in the kitchen. usually he eats in the livingroom w/ his food on an end table. the problem with this is he eats all day, food gets wasted cause he won't sit, ants find his food in the summer and it's just frustrating for me to keep telling him to sit down and eat. and he will cry, scream, bang his head when you tell him to eat. so for over a week we have been sitting in the kitchen to eat.. spending ALOT of time at the kitchen table with him. he is screaming and throwing a fit less and eating a bit faster. i'm also doing this because his teacher has these same issues at school.  i've tried this before but the temper tantrums made me quit. hopefully this time it works!