The “This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks” Facebook Group Shares The Worst Dishes Someone Had The Audacity To Serve (40 New Pics)
Interview
One of my absolute favorite things is having a picnic with my friends. Setting up camp on a blanket in a park on a warm, sunny day and sharing delicious treats we’ve prepared at home feels like the perfect way to bond with loved ones. Well, it did feel like that. But now I’m starting to have trust issues because I’ve just taken a trip to the This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks Facebook Group, and I’ve completely lost my appetite.
Below, you'll find some of the most unsettling and disgusting food photos that might make you swear off picnics and potlucks, as well as an interview with the group's creator Sarah Slabodnik. From questionable cooking methods to dishes that look like one-way tickets to salmonella city, this list has it all. If you don’t want the experience of sharing food with your pals to be ruined, I would run now, pandas. But if your stomach can handle these horrifying pics, be sure to upvote the ones that have convinced you to eat before going to your next potluck!
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If you’re not familiar with this unappetizing corner of the internet, let me get you acquainted with This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks. This group was created in September of 2020 and has amassed an impressive 153k members since then. There’s even an adorable poem on the group’s “about” page giving members an idea of what horrible photos they’re about to find lurking in the group, “Potlucks are something that I do not do, it should be so simple, just sharing some stew… Cooks that reek of the cigarettes they smoke, or they smell like cat pee so much that you choke, I’ve seen turds in a pot where a toddler shat right in the kitchen is where that pot sat.” Charming, right?
Well, lucky for us, we were able to get in touch with the creator of this group that’s caused potluck-phobia to run rampant on the internet, Sarah Slabodnik. Sarah was previously interviewed by Bored Panda the last time we featured her group as well, but she was kind enough to provide some updates on how the page is doing now. Previously when we spoke with Sarah, she explained how this shocking and unsettling page started: it was actually born as a spin-off of another Facebook group she runs called Messy Houses You Zoom In To See The Background Of.
“We were getting so many gross food prep areas posted [on Messy Houses You Zoom In To See The Background Of] that someone suggested making a separate group just for that,” Sarah told Bored Panda. “We got the title from the most common type of comment on those kinds of posts, which was that this was why people didn't trust food from a potluck.”
The creator of the group also went on to share a bit about what the community of This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks is like. “It's mostly people from the States, but I bet many of our members would be surprised to know our group was created by a Canadian,” Sarah noted. “I think a lot of people are drawn to our group because they'll have had a bad experience with a potluck, food poisoning for example, and they're happy to find there are more potluck weary people out there."
"Some join because they love potlucks and don't understand why we don't," she added. "After a quick scroll on our page, they start to understand, and soon they become people who no longer do potlucks."
Thinking about all those litter boxes is nightmare inducing.
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Had a co-worker who had 3 cats. She kept their litter boxes on top of her upper kitchen cabinets, so whenever the cats used them, there was a light rain of litter dust and whatever else settling down on the whole kitchen. No thank you.
This IS why I don’t do potlucks!!! You never know what someone’s kitchen looks like, or if they’re following safe food protocols.
Lakota Wolf you're the only person in this comment section I want to be friends with
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Everyone commenting nasty stuff here can put a cork in it. She's a little old lady who probably saved all those kitties. And, they all look like they are well taken care of. Go bag on someone else.
As much as I love my dog, and all animals, there's no WAY I'd be allowing them on my counters where I prepare food. And when I know the person bringing in a dish has a pet, especially a cat, I hesitate to eat what they made.
That's a nope for me. I cannot believe it when people let their cats on their counter in the kitchen. So gross.
the trouble with this is toxoplasmodium gondii. That's serious. It's got nothing to do with hating animals, it's about hygiene and not having an amoeba eat your brain.
Absolutely no way I'd allow my cat free range of the kitchen work surfaces
I put an addition on my house to be used as a cattery for the multitude of stray cats that found my yard, but it was organized and neat for the safety of the cats.
Omfg. I think this is my ex mother-in-law. Like for real. I'm shook. The stories I could tell...
THIS is why I don't have a cat. My dogs have never been on the countertop nor the table.
I have two cats. They're not allowed on food prep or eating surfaces. Because cats are devious little $#!s who will jump up when you're not looking, they're also not allowed to roam the house unsupervised (they have their own room).
Looks like she went shopping and is putting away groceries, give her a break. She's not chopping fresh food. They all look healthy.
Yep. And some people think nothing of their cats walking on the counter where they are making food, yet I'm the weirdo for not participating in the pot luck.
Now guys, she has clearly cleaned off a 9"x9" space on the corner of the table to use as a work surface. The cats and dog are there for vital moral support and inspection. Wouldn't want to take something to potluck that even the DOG turned his nose up at it! Imagine how embarrassing THAT would be!
i fully admit that i am the proverbial "dog person" but i also have the rule of all dogs are not allowed to be any where near the kitchen or where food is prepped or laid out. i like cats but this pic explains why i will not have them. not only do they go where they want when they want but knowing that they dig and cover their waste and then want to snuggle with me is something i can do without.
my parents knew a lady that let her birds fly free in her condo, and would dump her donations for bake sales before she arrived for her shift, claiming they sold out first.
You see, we doggos are good instead of those scaredy cats that run whenever I wanna be friends with them >:p
Oh my gosh…please don’t let end up being the crazy cat lady. Two is more than enough. Can’t even punt em all…
As far as how the page has changed since the last time we spoke with Sarah, she shared that the group has gained an impressive 25k new members in about six months. “There were also a lot of complaints from members about fly egg posts, so we took a poll in the group and decided to dedicate one pinned announcement to fly eggs,” the administrator went on to explain, referencing posts that were apparently quite common the last time we spoke with her. “Now members can only post fly egg pictures on that post, so they don't show up on member's newsfeeds anymore.”
We were also curious if there were any new trends emerging in the group. “One thing that comes up often and goes way beyond your typical potluck food is urine therapy,” Sarah told Bored Panda. “If you're a consenting adult who wants to drink their own urine, that's one thing, but some people are sneaking urine into other people's food or drink without their consent. That's assault, not to mention disgusting,” she explained. “We had a post recently where a parent was sneaking her urine into her child's popsicles in order for the child to do well at school.”
I would ditch that disgusting spit fuckwurt to the kerb.,ugh how have you put up with this, and WTF.
*pukes on mashed potato* oh no let me clean that up- wait it looks the exact same...
“A great (and non urine related) post from a few days ago mentioned that [someone had] found a bottle of Salon Selectives hair spray from the 90's in their parents' kitchen, marked with a piece of masking tape stating the contents were teriyaki sauce,” Sarah added.
And although she loves being an administrator for this terrifying Facebook group, Sarah previously shared with Bored Panda that it’s not always a walk in the park. “There are some recurring debates in our group, like whether or not it's acceptable to prepare food in a sink for example, and members are quick to pick their side and stick to it,” she explained. “Members can debate the food as much as they want, but if anyone gets out of line and starts criticizing other members instead of the food, we don't put up with that."
Spoiler alert: this is how everything started in "The last of us"
"Shame food, not people" is the number one rule of This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks. Members are encouraged to share any photos of disgusting or shocking meals or food prep areas, but the admins make it clear that bullying and discrimination of any kind are not tolerated. Members are also asked to block out faces and names when submitting a post. Another important rule is that videos where food is wasted for entertainment purposes are not permitted. Especially nowadays, when there are so many people out there struggling to put food on the table, wasting food for comedic effect or entertainment value is tasteless and tone deaf.
And although running this group has made Sarah more weary of potlucks in general, she confessed to Bored Panda that she actually did end up attending one in January. “The next morning I felt unwell, and the only person I could blame was myself,” she admitted. “If anyone should have known better, it's me. Most of the food was delicious going down, I just wished it had stayed there. It's so hard to trust food that others have made.”
Sarah had previously explained to Bored Panda that it’s not only the posts that put members off of potlucks, it can also be the comments from others. "We had a post about someone displaying their cooked bacon next to their raw bacon for size comparison,” Sarah went on to note. “The problem was that they were putting the cooked bacon where the raw bacon was, so now their cooked bacon was contaminated. Many members commented that you actually don't need to cook bacon. Many other members, including me, were shocked. Shouldn't it be common sense that you have to cook bacon before you serve it? Apparently not. Common sense is not common when it comes to safe food handling."
“If you do go to a potluck, there are a few tips that seem to work well,” Sarah shared with Bored Panda. “You can bring your own dish and only eat that, you can only eat food that people have bought prepared to bring. Make sure you're first in the line to get food (less likely someone will have handled it, coughed or sneezed on it by the time you get there), claim you're on a diet, claim you have dietary restrictions, eat before you go or tell them the last time you ate insert questionable food here you got ill.”
I mean, I approve of the Twilight books getting stabbed, but Sherlock Holmes?! That's a classic!
“I think ignorance can be bliss when it comes to potlucks,” Sarah added. “It's all fun and games until you find pet fur in the icing or part of a fake fingernail in the burgers. Or until you're so ill that you can't even keep water down.” Honestly, these photos aren’t just giving me the heebie-jeebies when it comes to potlucks, I’m questioning all food that I haven’t prepared myself. When visiting a friend’s apartment, how clean is their kitchen? When eating out in a restaurant, how do I know the staff values cleanliness and personal hygiene? New phobia: activated.
Funny anecdote: when I was a kid (12? 13?) I went to a friend's sleepover birthday party. I was the only girl there (this was the 90s, and I was "one of the boys", zero interest in em other than as friends). The whole group of us stayed up late, way past when the friend's parents went to bed. One group of kids were playing Magic: The Gathering in a side room. Another group was playing hide and seek in the dark. My best friend and I decided to explore our friend's house. We snuck into the garage. There were jars of homemade pickles brining next to the water heater. We were baffled. We'd never seen homemade pickles... and in a garage?! We dared a third friend to open one of the jars and try a "pickle". Turns out, they were VERY early on in the pickling process and still mostly cucumbers at that point XD Third friend put the bitten cucumber BACK INTO THE JAR. We never told anyone XD I wonder what my friend's parents thought when they went to open their pickles months later and saw one with a bite taken out...
Have you completely lost your appetite, pandas? These photos have been making me feel relieved to be vegan, as I usually can’t partake in much of what is served at any potluck I attend. I don’t think I’ll swear off gatherings like this for the rest of my life, but I’ll definitely be more careful about who I trust to be preparing my food… We hope you’re enjoying these frightening photos, and if your stomach can handle even more, be sure to check out our previous article featuring This Is Why I Don’t Do Potlucks right here!
Have none of these people heard of the phrase “you don’t poop where you eat”? I just wanna disinfect my phone after this thread lol.
Pass me a tea towel will you..... oh... its glued to the stove.....
Uh, bologna is processed meat paste basically, this looks like it had an air bubble in the middle. The "slimy" part is probably fat/collagen (aka gelatin).
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Leftover turkey growing six months' worth of mold in two weeks? In the fridge? Frozen cake layers moldy after three days? Sorry, but I'm just not buying a lot of these.
Yeah, specifically the cake one for me. I bake all the time, and freeze cake all the time too! Even if you freeze it while warm, it shouldn't get moldy after just 3 days! Maybe it was a problem with their freezer?
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Sorry but there's no way some of these are legit. i could see them in some extreme circs, but.... honestly, context would be appreciated. E.g., "We came home to this after a month away from home b/c our fridge died while we were gone"...
Been there. Opened the fridge once. Bought a new fridge and had them haul the nasty one away
Load More Replies... I usually have a strong stomach, just ask my husband. But this post just changed that. I'm not eating anything another person makes unless I know them personally and have seen the house the make the food in.
You know...I was thinking, "ok this weekend I need to clean the kitchen", and tbh it's not so bad. At least anything coming out of it (or anything that's in the fridge) is totally safe and edible. I just need to do a few dishes and clean the sink.
these horrify me to no end. I can't even do my Christmas baking until i clean my already clean kitchen. I take no chances.
This series needs a trigger warning. Do not eat while reading or if you plan to eat in the next 24 hours.
I had to stop at #7. But some of the comments were hilarious.
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Church I went to as a kidlet---around 10 or 12 years old---had LOTS of Sunday evening "potlucks" that our family went to. One old battleaxe always brought in the same slop, and Mom told us kids (privately at home) to "NEVER touch anything Mrs. So and So brings!" No joke, her awful dish always made some poor unsuspecting person sick (I think it could easily have been food poisoning, her using home canned products, and I know they sat in her basement for years at a time). The minister's wife should have just assigned her to bring dinner rolls from the nearby bakery. At least they were made in a clean kitchen, unlike her filthy house's kitchen.
In the UK we don't do this .. due to the fact there are only a limited flavour of pot noodles
All these posts are the reason I’ve stayed in the underworld
Wow. Just....wow. Poor though I am, if something manages to get old enough to develop mold on it, it's gone, period. I no longer cook for others, but I still keep my kitchen clean because I'M the one I have to keep healthy!
I don't know if I'm going to be able to eat today. Some of these , hell, most of these people qualify for the Darwin report. And they probably vote
I had a parent who defrosted meat in the microwave...and then we left for Florida for two weeks. The smell was dire. I will never forget it.
Some of these (like the underwear in the microwave) seem okay. We just have mental prejudices that make us think these things are really bad. Clean underwear are not going to be a problem. The dish with eggs, olives and oranges is similar to an actual Spanish dish. There are a few others where we just make mental leaps that aren't born out logically. However, some are just disgusting, like the dirty kitchens.
I would give the dish with eggs and oranges a try. Maybe it would be good.
Load More Replies... Leftover turkey growing six months' worth of mold in two weeks? In the fridge? Frozen cake layers moldy after three days? Sorry, but I'm just not buying a lot of these.
Yeah, specifically the cake one for me. I bake all the time, and freeze cake all the time too! Even if you freeze it while warm, it shouldn't get moldy after just 3 days! Maybe it was a problem with their freezer?
Load More Replies... Sorry but there's no way some of these are legit. i could see them in some extreme circs, but.... honestly, context would be appreciated. E.g., "We came home to this after a month away from home b/c our fridge died while we were gone"...
Been there. Opened the fridge once. Bought a new fridge and had them haul the nasty one away
Load More Replies... I usually have a strong stomach, just ask my husband. But this post just changed that. I'm not eating anything another person makes unless I know them personally and have seen the house the make the food in.
You know...I was thinking, "ok this weekend I need to clean the kitchen", and tbh it's not so bad. At least anything coming out of it (or anything that's in the fridge) is totally safe and edible. I just need to do a few dishes and clean the sink.
these horrify me to no end. I can't even do my Christmas baking until i clean my already clean kitchen. I take no chances.
This series needs a trigger warning. Do not eat while reading or if you plan to eat in the next 24 hours.
I had to stop at #7. But some of the comments were hilarious.
Load More Replies... Church I went to as a kidlet---around 10 or 12 years old---had LOTS of Sunday evening "potlucks" that our family went to. One old battleaxe always brought in the same slop, and Mom told us kids (privately at home) to "NEVER touch anything Mrs. So and So brings!" No joke, her awful dish always made some poor unsuspecting person sick (I think it could easily have been food poisoning, her using home canned products, and I know they sat in her basement for years at a time). The minister's wife should have just assigned her to bring dinner rolls from the nearby bakery. At least they were made in a clean kitchen, unlike her filthy house's kitchen.
In the UK we don't do this .. due to the fact there are only a limited flavour of pot noodles
All these posts are the reason I’ve stayed in the underworld
Wow. Just....wow. Poor though I am, if something manages to get old enough to develop mold on it, it's gone, period. I no longer cook for others, but I still keep my kitchen clean because I'M the one I have to keep healthy!
I don't know if I'm going to be able to eat today. Some of these , hell, most of these people qualify for the Darwin report. And they probably vote
I had a parent who defrosted meat in the microwave...and then we left for Florida for two weeks. The smell was dire. I will never forget it.
Some of these (like the underwear in the microwave) seem okay. We just have mental prejudices that make us think these things are really bad. Clean underwear are not going to be a problem. The dish with eggs, olives and oranges is similar to an actual Spanish dish. There are a few others where we just make mental leaps that aren't born out logically. However, some are just disgusting, like the dirty kitchens.
I would give the dish with eggs and oranges a try. Maybe it would be good.
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