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About Potluck

With Potluck, we’re reimagining mealtime as a communal effort rather than an individual responsibility. It’s community cooking for the modern lifestyle, turning the daily task of meal preparation into a shared experience that brings people together and lightens the load. Just as you would search for your next vacation rental, book your next ride-share, and find your next friendship, Potluck fills a unique gap: the need for a platform that connects people around food and eases the burden of everyday meal planning and preparation.
Potluck was born from a simple yet profound need: to give families time back in their day and alleviate the stress of getting dinner on the table. But it goes beyond just answering “What’s for dinner?” Potluck tackles the deeper question of how dinner makes it to the table in the first place. For families balancing work, caregiving, and the daily grind, this seemingly simple question often represents hours of invisible labor, mental load, and planning.
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Shannon Amspacher

Founder & CEO

  • LinkedIn

As a dedicated advocate for family-friendly policies and a passionate leader in the care economy, Shannon’s career spans employee benefits strategy, strategic marketing, content strategy, and process optimization—all anchored by her commitment to making life more manageable and meaningful for working parents.

Shannon’s dual majors in Entrepreneurship and Risk Management & Insurance reflect her balanced approach to risk—one side ready to dive into bold ideas, the other prepared with a parachute. This unique mix equips her to pursue ambitious goals with just the right level of caution.
 

Her journey into the care economy began long before becoming a parent herself. With a background in organizations focused on helping people reenter the workforce after extended breaks (often for caregiving), Shannon has dedicated her career to supporting others in ways that align closely with her own experiences and values.

After serving as Senior Director of Marketing & Strategic Partnerships at iRelaunch, Shannon quickly embraced some noteworthy new titles and roles: "mom" and serial entrepreneur, launching two businesses within a single year.

Shannon believes every family deserves the opportunity to thrive—not only at work but in all aspects of life—and has a deep conviction in Potluck's potential to help bring this vision to life.

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I started Potluck because, like so many parents, I was exhausted by the constant mental load of meal planning, food sourcing, and getting dinner on the table—night after night. It’s one of the most basic tasks, yet somehow, it eats up so much of our time and energy. I'm also someone who loves cooking...but only when I can do it leisurely, without the stress of a ticking clock or the need to feed a hungry family before the evening routine collapses into chaos. I knew there had to be a better way.

Potluck's 
Story

The idea for Potluck took shape shortly after my son was born, when I realized just how essential my support system was. Friends and family brought meals, batch-cooked with me, and took the weight of meal prep off my shoulders in those early days. It made me wonder: why can’t we do this more often, and not just for new parents but for anyone trying to balance work, family, and life? ​ I wanted to create a way for people to share the load of cooking, to take meal prep from an isolated task to a community effort.

 

Potluck is my bold reimagination of building trust and connection within the communities of our modern world—a revival of the village-like support systems of the past, where neighbors came together to help one another with everyday needs, especially through the sharing of food.  I envision a platform that could let people connect, share meals, and reduce food waste—all while enjoying the comfort of home-cooked food and discovering new recipes and flavors from others in the community. ​ Potluck is my answer to tackling that age-old question: not just what’s for dinner, but how does it get on the table without draining one individual's time and energy?

 

I wanted to make it easier for families to gather around the table, to build connections through food, and to give everyone a little more time back in their day. ​ Ultimately, Potluck is about reclaiming mealtime as a shared, joyful experience. It’s about reconnecting with our neighbors, finding support in our communities, and sharing the work—and the joy—of nourishing ourselves and each other.

It's about making more time for meals that matter.

Reclaiming Time and Reducing Mental Load

Many of us approach meal prep from a place of scarcity. Perhaps it’s the fear of running out of ingredients, or the worry that we won’t have the time to prepare something nourishing. This scarcity mindset often leads to overbuying, stress, and ultimately, wasted food. With Potluck, we’re flipping this script. By pooling resources and sharing labor, we not only reduce food waste and the stress of meal planning but also help families reclaim time and mental space.

Through AI-powered meal planning, automated tools, and community meal-sharing, Potluck allows families to shift the mental load of sourcing food, planning meals, and preparing dishes. This shared approach is a lifeline for those drowning in the invisible labor of daily meal prep. One of our core beliefs is that when you have more than you need, you build a longer table, not a higher fence—and Potluck embodies that philosophy, inviting communities to come together and share what they have.

Building Resilient Communities and Reducing Food Insecurity

Potluck’s mission goes beyond convenience; it focuses on making a positive impact in our communities. Inspired by the gift economy model inherent to the "Buy Nothing" movement, Potluck creates opportunities to address food insecurity, support those in need, and invest in local food initiatives. Our community-based approach not only lightens the load for individuals but also contributes to reducing food waste, supporting local food systems, and reinvesting in our neighborhoods. A portion of Potluck membership fees are earmarked to reducing food insecurity, supporting food banks and nonprofits, and strengthening the bonds that hold communities together.

We believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, and Potluck embodies this by creating a system that benefits everyone. From busy parents needing a break to individuals who want to help, Potluck enables people to support each other and build connections, ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious, home-cooked meals.

Shifting Gender Norms and Sharing the Invisible Labor

Meal prep is one of the most basic needs, yet it’s often an invisible part of household labor—always there in the background, yet rarely acknowledged. Traditionally, this work falls on women, who bear the mental load of coordinating, planning, and executing meals. Potluck seeks to change this narrative by making meal prep a visible, shared responsibility. By creating a system where this work is strategically reallocated among community members, Potluck challenges outdated gender norms and encourages a more equitable division of labor.

With Potluck, we’re shifting meal planning and food sourcing from individual minds to community efforts. Everyone has to eat, and anyone can contribute. This collective approach helps families balance the daily grind while enjoying the support of a community that understands and shares in their responsibilities.

Gathering Around the Table

At its heart, Potluck values the practice of gathering around the table—bringing back the communal joy of sharing a meal. It’s a modern-day solution inspired by ancient practices, designed to make mealtime a source of connection, not stress. Potluck provides families with the chance to savor the joy of food and friendship, to be present with their loved ones, and to share the simple act of caring through cooking.

 

With Potluck, you’re not just sharing food—you’re sharing in one of life's most elemental rituals. Each meal becomes an opportunity to build stronger connections through food, support one another, and contribute to a more resilient, interconnected community. Potluck isn’t just about dinner; it’s about rediscovering the power of food to connect us, nourish us, and bring us together.

Reviving the Village Approach

We live in a time where we’ve moved away from community-based models of support, child-rearing, and shared domestic labor. The nuclear family has replaced the village, and households are more isolated, bearing the full weight of everyday responsibilities alone. Potluck seeks to revive the essence of community that we seem to have lost. It’s a call to return to our roots—to the ancient wisdom of communal systems of care, alloparenting, and cooperative support. By connecting neighbors and families around food, Potluck fosters a culture where we support one another, just as communities have done for centuries.​​

Building Culinary Connections and Exploring New Flavors

For food lovers, Potluck offers a way to discover a world of culinary connections. It’s not just about the convenience of shared meals; it’s about exploring new cuisines, recipes, and cultural traditions from the comfort of your local community. Imagine a local freezer meal cook-off, a community potluck event, a cookbook party, or a “Supper Club” gathering where people can try each other’s recipes, share cooking tips, and savor a variety of dishes. Potluck allows people to crowdsource recipes, introduce new flavors to their families, and enjoy the richness of culinary diversity without ever leaving their neighborhood.

If you’d like more information about our features, get in touch today.

Potluck's Advisory Board

Our Partnerships

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