Hungry for Change: POTLUCK Works To Rescue Food, Transform Lives

The numbers are staggering: the Census reports nearly 20 percent of Arkansans live below the poverty line, 4 percent above the national average. One in four children in the state don’t get enough to eat. And Arkansas ties with Mississippi on the USDA’s list of states with the highest rates of food insecurity.

Little Rock’s POTLUCK Food Rescue is working to change that. Though the staff sometimes serves food directly to the needy, it’s their behind-the-scenes work that has the biggest impact.

Rescuing Food … and People

POTLUCK serves as a critical source of food for Arkansas charities, gathering nutritious leftovers from restaurants, grocers, farmers markets and other sources, then distributing it free of charge. Unlike most food relief organizations that focus on nonperishables, POTLUCK deals almost exclusively with items like meat, fresh produce and recently prepared meals, filling the gap that others leave.

The effects are nothing short of impressive. Each week, POTLUCK helps nearly 8,000 children, seniors and working poor find their next meal. Last year, staff rescued more than 4.5 million pounds of fresh produce, meat and frozen and canned food.

Recipients of POTLUCK’s food include homeless shelters, soup kitchens and churches throughout Pulaski County and the rest of the state. Our House, Women and Children First, Stewpot Little Rock and We Care of Pulaski County are just a few of the organizations that depend on POTLUCK for feeding the needy in their communities.

POTLUCK also partners with eight outreach organizations in underserved communities in Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Camden and others through its Kids’ Pantry program, providing more than 1,000 complete meals a week. In addition to nutritious food, Kids’ Pantry sites offer academic enrichment in a safe, supervised setting during the summer and holidays — times when school isn’t in session and school meals aren’t available. POTLUCK estimates the Kids’ Pantry program has served well over 50,000 children since its inception in 1997.

“Putting food on the table is a daily struggle for far too many of our neighbors,” says Carol Herzog, POTLUCK executive director. “The alleviation of hunger remains one of the most pervasive challenges in our community and state.”

Running Lean and Mean

It was 1994 — “100 years ago,” she jokes — that Carol first became involved with the organization. Pat Lile, former executive director at the Arkansas Community Foundation and a friend and mentor, suggested she apply for the executive director position of a “wonderful nonprofit organization called POTLUCK that was started by the Junior League of Little Rock,” Carol recounts.

In the nearly 20 years since, the organization has grown to meet the needs of the state’s hunger problem, a struggle only exacerbated in recent years by the ailing economy.

“When I sat down behind my new (used) desk, the organization was about 6 years old and still very much in start-up mode, rescuing about 65,000 pounds of food a year,” Carol says. “Today, POTLUCK rescues an average of 13,000 to 14,000 pounds of food a day.”

It’s thanks to community support that POTLUCK has been able to scale its outreach to such an exponential degree. Last year, staff installed a $41,000 refrigerator unit, increasing its food storage capacity to nearly 5,000 cubic feet. The gift from an anonymous donor allows staff to distribute an additional 350,000 to 400,000 pounds of food a year.

For a nonprofit receiving no government funds, donations are vital to keeping its network of food rescue and distribution going. With only three employees — Carol and two delivery truck drivers — POTLUCK keeps expenses low to maximize its impact. Each dollar donated helps POTLUCK provide food for more than 19 meals.

“We spend money wisely,” Carol says. “We are lean and mean, that’s for sure.”

“[Carol] lives, eats and breathes POTLUCK,” says Peggy Jones, chair of the organization’s board of directors. “She is so efficient, and it’s a very efficiently run organization.”

A Non-Event

To continue its mission, POTLUCK hosts its annual fall fundraiser Links + Drinks, a chance for supporters and community members to come together in a casual setting at its North Little Rock headquarters. Its other fundraising mainstay takes a decidedly different approach.

Carol says it was former board member Vicki Saviers who first proposed the idea of a non-event, inviting people to donate rather than attend a party. Guests would give the money they would normally spend on clothes, transportation and baby sitters directly. The tongue-in-cheek Not at All a Ball was born.

Now in its 21st year, the Not at All a Ball’s goal this year is $30,000, which will enable POTLUCK to continue its mission to eradicate hunger and wasted food. Besides merely keeping its gears going, however, POTLUCK dreams of expanding its efforts.

Bruce Limozaine, executive director of Helping Hand of Greater Little Rock, began working with POTLUCK in 1990, initially receiving food deliveries once or twice a month. Now a full truck bed arrives weekly, providing food to feed the more than 3,600 individuals that Helping Hand reaches each month. “Without a doubt, POTLUCK is one of the great assets this community has in helping to feed the needy,” he says.

“POTLUCK is an ongoing, tremendous gift to Little Rock to those who need it most,” says Cindy Murphy, advisory chair for Women and Children First, an organization that houses 51 victims of physical abuse on any given day, and often operates at or above capacity. “Not all clients who seek shelter are eligible for food stamps, or may not have the necessary documentation to apply for benefits without delay. Simply put, if POTLUCK didn’t provide such generous support, WCF would not be able to serve the needs of the community.”

Recipients of POTLUCK’s food know just how high the stakes are.

“A hungry community is a weakened community,” Cindy says. “With hunger and homelessness on the rise, and with record numbers within our community requiring shelter, many would go hungry.”

Though financial contributions are important, they aren’t the only way to help POTLUCK. Food collection and distribution volunteers and a larger network of food sources are just as helpful. “We turn the food around very quickly,” Peggy says. “All they have to do is call us and we will take care of the rest.

“It breaks our hearts that there are restaurants and grocery stores out there who still throw food away. We have capacity. We have drivers. We have time. We are able to come get the food. A lot of people are concerned about lawsuits. That’s not ever an issue. People are hungry and they need the food.”

21st Annual Not at All a Ball

Credit: Nancy Nolan

Credit: Nancy Nolan