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Food is always a great connector and we use it to make people feel valued, at ease and less formal in building relationships. In my family one traditional meal-time is our Easter dinner. We all come to our grandmother home and cook meals together and enjoy each other company.

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The meal-time tradition in my household, specifically on Sundays, is to have dinner at 2:00 pm . I can speak for my family when I say food is one of the many reasons we gather together. Food unites us and others all around the world. Its also interesting how many cultures share the same sorts of dishes and how connected we all are.

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I think food is good for building relationships specifically in my family we have dinner together around our kitchen table and we talk about our day and what is going on in our lives. So those dinners bring us together as a family and are a time I really look forward to. Also every week my grandmother has over our whole family and we have a big family dinner. It's nice because we get to come together and enjoy our time together and build those good relationships.

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Food allows individuals to come together, and share their recipes. In my House my whole family eats together at the table and we eat home cooked meals.

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Food is a great way to relate to other people, as well as it just being a good conversation starter. It helps people bond and understand other cultures. Different foods from different cultures can be daunting to some, but by trying these new experiences, the palate of taste and knowledge is expanded

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My family has a tradition to get together with my Nana every Sunday to eat a meal together. This is important to my family because it is a day we take to just focus on each other. Food is a big part of building relationships and I think taking the time to eat a meal together can really strengthen relationships.

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Food connects everyone and it is so special to every family! In my family, we have lots of casseroles and chicken in our meals. At my moms house, we each sit in our “spot” at the dinner table and sit down together.

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Food can help to help build connections when it comes to taste and interest. Everybody loves food and some people enjoy a particular food which matches others, which can lead to relationship building and it can bring out their communication skills to a more vast amount.

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Food plays a very integral role in most cultures for example in the Hindu religion where meats such as Beef and pork are in absence in the diet due to religious significance. Food also is a way of bringing everyone together to share a common meal and enjoy each other's company. In my family one traditional meal ritual that happens annually is our Christmas Eve dinner. This is where we dedicate one day to preparing and spending time with each other ending our evening with a home cooked Christmas eve dinner as a family with local cuisine breaking in Christmas together.

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Food plays a really important part of our cultures. This topic is a great conversation starter in building relationships. Individuals tend to bond over their favorite meals or even trying new ones.
In my home, my mom cooks and sometimes my dad as well. My brother and I make snacks. On weekends, my mom cooks her special meals and we also buy fast food. On birthdays and other special occasions, a feast is cooked. However, on Fridays ( our fasting day) vegetarian meals are cooked.

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I think food is essential in building relationships; especially for me. This is because I could spend hours talking to a complete stranger about my favourite meals. From this simple conversation;I could make a life long friend! Not only could this be a great means of forming good relationships; but so could barbecues. In the USA, it is very common to invite friends and family over to a barbecue at one's home. I believe this could strengthen a relationship if the environment is conducive and favourable to everyone. So yes, in my opinion, food can bring people together to form strong, fruitful, longlasting relationships.Some of my favourite foods include (but are not limited to) ackee and saltfish, jerk chicken & festival and stew peas.

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Food is always a great connector and we use it in meetings and events to make people feel valued, at ease and less formal which helps in building relationships. People also associate food with informal events. We all need to eat and we all enjoy eating.

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What importance can food have in building relationships?
I believe that food, like music and every other aspect of culture, can help to build relationship in many ways. People come together most times for food. For example, barbecues. With food, people get to share recipes, try new things and diversify the food types in different areas. No matter where you go, people eat food!
What is the meal-time tradition in your household?
In my household, for every birthday, apart from the usual birthday outings, everyone comes together and different members make what they are good at making. I, for instance do the pizzas and cake. Also on Saturdays, those who are free assist in the cooking of soup as Saturdays are called 'Soup Saturday' in my household.

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I think food is very important when it comes to building relationships. It normally brings everyone together and is one of the things we as humans have in common. Food is something that can be shared and enjoyed by people all over the world and closes gaps of cultural divide. In The Bahamas we have a food festival where over 100 stalls of food from different nationalities share their culture through wine and delicious meals. It gives people a chance to taste the world outside of their country and widen their pallets. This festival also builds relationships with other countries that connect because of similarities in food.In my home fish or chicken, rice and baked macaroni  is a normal meal.

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Food definitely acts as a way to start a conversation and keep that conversation flowing. People tend to bond over things that we like or enjoy and most of the time, food pops up in our conversations as we discuss our favourite dishes or dishes that we may want to try. We may talk about our likes and dislikes or talk about food from a different culture that we enjoy but in the end, bringing food into conversations helps create and stabilize a bond among individuals.
A meal-time tradition that my family has is that every Saturday (providing that most of us are free) we meet at my grandmother's house and cook a meal from scratch, usually there's a different theme each Saturday that influences our menu. I tend to be the one who makes all the desserts (sweets are my specialty!) <3

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Food- a man's best friend. Well, maybe not but definitely MY best friend. Food does not only serve as a necessity for human beings or a nourishment for our bodies but a JOY of life. Food brings people together, it forms communities, keeps families and creates tradition. It is such a major part of life that it is even included in our cultures. Food creates connections and bonds, builds relationships and friends, sparks conversation. We may go out and meet individuals through food-related events. We share a common food we both enjoy and that sparks conversation and in the long run a relationship as well.

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Food plays a very important role in cultures. Especially when you have something as familiar as picnics or an event exploring our culture and heritage through food. It also helps people bind their interest and find things they have in common. To me food is almost like a none-verbal language. A way for people to communicate and connect through the arts of food textures, ingredients and delights.

In my house our traditional is rice, macaroni and chicken with salads.

Jáheim T. Thomas
Barbados

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Food acts as an icebreaker and as a way to connect. It is something we all have in common, we might differ in our likes, dislikes and portion sizes, but on a basic level food can be used strategically to help people work together and build trust. In my household, we eat thrice per day breakfast, lunch and dinner with the typical rice and peas on Sundays alongside some protein and pasta. Every Friday my family and I would prepare for the sabbath by cooking a variety of dishes together and although we do not celebrate christmas , a visit to Grandpa's home with curried goats is a must.

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Food is something that everyone likes and can help mend relationships in my family we cook together everyone gets a job and the jobs all impact the dish or dishes that we make food is something that can tell you what they have in the area you are in.