The More You Know… About Potlucks. This is a Public Service Announcement.

‘Tis the season for the potlucks. Of course, potlucks happen many times throughout the year; however, they seem to run rampant during the holidays. Church, family, office – you are not immune to the invitation to participate whether that means contributing or just eating.

Potlucks have been around seemingly forever… it’s a good possibility even at the “Last Supper” they had a sign-up list of who would bring the bread and who would bring the wine. Peter signed up for the grapes, John the apples, Philip the cheese. Judas was assigned the meat, however, as you can expect arrived sans food, the first of several disappointments (as you may know) for his esteemed “colleagues.”

You ask, must I contribute? Must I eat? Can I partake without contributing? Do I have to eat with others or can I eat at my desk (assuming here, you are ensnared in an office potluck)? Can I skip it all together and just “have somewhere to be?” So many questions, how very stressful it can be!!! There is no steadfast rule here and it mostly depends upon the potluck location, the people involved, etc. Speaking specifically of the work potluck, you may not always have to contribute, you may not always have to eat, but if you do not eat, you may not want to show up for fear of offending someone by not trying their dish. Do not break the cardinal rule of potlucks though… if you do not bring something to eat, do not participate.

Despite all the drama, potlucks are a lovely way to bring the masses together at a relatively low cost to all participants. You see a wide variety of food offered, some that looks quite tasty and some barely edible. Jello molds with carrot shavings seem to be a rather constant contribution that gets eaten by few, much like fruit cake, yet is always present. Chips and dips are common as are the purchased veggie and meat and cheese trays. These are safe contributions that may put you out a little more; however, everyone partakes and doesn’t think twice about the origin of the food.

And here is truly where the public service announcement begins. Those aforementioned chips, dips, veggie and meat trays: use caution. Always be the first to open the bag of chips and pour yourself a serving. Too many innocent people get hurt by taking chips after someone has rudely dipped their hand into the bag for the golden goodness of a potato chip. Use a spoon for the dip; it is a huge faux pas to dip your chip straight into the dip. And on that note, absorb as I write this, WATCH OUT FOR THE DOUBLE DIPPER! Some may not be as dip savvy as you are and just dig right in, not once, but twice. The same goes for the trays of store-bought food. Always be at the front of the line and never fondle the food. Be considerate of others as you would hope they would be considerate of your appetite strength. Who knows what is on their hands???

Speaking of hands, beware of those not washing their hands after bathroom use. Most likely if you work in a building with multiple bathroom stalls, you are very aware who these people are. You may be one of them. Gasp! Do not take food after them and certainly don’t eat their food! They most likely don’t wash up much at home either and you will be eating something of theirs that touched their germy, unwashed hands. Watch out for those with multiple cats at home as well or else you may very well find an unwelcome guest in your food. Ick, ick, ick. I worked with a double offender—never washed her hands and had several cats. The trick here is to very carefully survey the crowd to find out what this person brought and avoid it at all costs. The only ones who usually ate her food were the blissfully unaware. They were probably blessed with a very strong immune system because of it so they can thank her for that very kind inoculation. And it only took eating someone’s food. Okay, so I can see a benefit to partaking in the work potluck and eating the offender’s food. It’s now so clear. Perhaps I’ve been wrong all along. Just remember to use caution this Holiday Season when navigating any and all potluck events and you’ll get the most goodness and enjoyment out of them!