Basically, I think there should be an acceptance of opting out of the food aspect and just enjoying the social. On the upside, I’m not mooching off of other people’s dishes and I won’t tear the donuts in half, since I can’t eat them anyway. I’d much rather eat before I go or eat separately and just socialize. And they have to be sufficiently well-versed in what I can eat. And I’m not going to eat the food other people brought unless I know them very well, trust them, and they assure me it’s safe. But I’m not very inclined to either make a bunch of food most people won’t find to be very appetizing.

There are foods that I can make and eat and also make portable enough to bring somewhere, but they aren’t also going to be tasty. I have an extremely limiting food allergy plus a few other issues. Personally, I dislike gatherings around food, and it’s worse if it’s a large group that isn’t even actually friends. And that it was called potluck, since most meals were a mix of ingredients thrown into a cookie pot. Which was that if you dropped by somebody’s home without an invitation that you had to accept potluck – that is whatever they happened to be making for dinner, since they would not have prepared anything special for a guest. I visited my boyfriend's family this year, and we were asked (voluntold) to bring the green bean casserole.My understanding, which may or may not be accurate, is that potluck parties came from the earlier idea of potluck. What is the feeling about asking people to contribute food to a family gathering? Ive never had a double oven, so Im not certain how Id do Thanksgiving for a big group with no contributions.

Does the potluck picnic/lunch/dinner not exist elsewhere? I was researching a recipe, and noticed it referenced 'places where potlucks are usual, like the upper midwest'.

Churches and other civic groups have potlucks too. In my experience-basically middle class American-large summer backyard barbecues are often like this, with the host buying burgers and hot dogs for everyone, but families all contribute food and maybe byob as well. The host might even provide the main dish, and assign categories-bring a salad or bring a dessert. At a meal with more participants you might bring not enough for everyone, but more than just you-like a full sized 10x14 inch baking pan. In the US a pot-luck is a meal where everyone is invited to bring a dish to share, in an amount to feed the group.

Is pot luck one word