New website helps promote understanding.

A new website is seeking to harness the power of food to improve interfaith relations. www.faithandfood.com has been designed to promote understanding of faith practitioners’ dietary needs and break down myths surrounding religious traditions. The website was launched in September 2004 with an inter faith buffet reception at the House of Commons. Religious representatives from nine faiths, including Bahá’í, shared in a vegetarian meal together.

The site describes the dietary practises and beliefs of nine faiths with its Faithandfood Fact Files. www.faithandfood.com also encourages inter faith eating with its directory of food outlets where people of different faiths can eat together. Restaurants pay to assign religion symbols to their outlets so that users know if they can eat there in accordance to their faiths. The website has been featured in national press, national radio and other media and received over 150,000 hits in its first six weeks.

The website is an initiative of Tolerance Limited, a media, events and training company that strives to improve inter faith relations and wider society’s understanding and tolerance of religion.

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http://www.faithandfood.com