People don't cook anymore

Warning: this is a rant.

I attended my 4th potluck of the season yesterday. This was my work potluck, and I'm the organizer, because people keep asking me to do it. It is also the one where very few people did any cooking whatsoever (actually, at #3, there was no cooking at all, unless making sandwiches count. You know, I think it does count). I myself bought something that day because we weren't sure it was happening until the very last minute.

Back to the point. People don't cook. With the exception of the women at my quilting potluck (hmm...30, 40, 50, and 60-something quilters...yeah, we cook), most people I know don't even bother. The work potluck...the first couple of years, they were great. About 2/3 of the attendees cooked something, the rest bought something (young single guys, mostly). We had tamales, potstickers ...yum. Then something happened. A couple of the people who cooked realized that others were just buying stuff. Then they started buying stuff.

I really want to let everyone know that there's a happy medium between "tamales or homemade potstickers (both a lot of work)" and "ordering a pizza". Because there is. I managed to make cream cheese/ham rollups and sauteed green beans in just 40 minutes, with a toddler, while drinking wine. I still expect the young single guys to order the pizza or buy the tray of sushi. I still expect the single mom with two jobs to pick up something on her way in. But fewer than 1/3 of the people even bothered to prepare anything. Still they all said "we need to do this more often!" Sigh. I think I will maybe do it more often, and assign 1/2 of the people to bring food for all. See the other problem with buying food is that people buy enough for all 30 employees....30 people x 30 servings...you realize the math there. And if I wanted to have a potluck catered by Costco...I'd throw a party and buy all Costco food (not that Costco is bad, I do like it...)

Okay, rant over.