When Florence Haut saw employees of a restaurant throwing out unsold food back in 1989, the idea of that waste bothered her so deeply she asked if she could take the leftovers and donate them instead.
Realizing the amount of food that could be collected in a similar way, she built a team of volunteers and got the Junior League of Little Rock on board. Haut and the Junior League, along with the Interfaith Hunger Task Force and the Arkansas Foodbank, officially launched Potluck Food Rescue in January 1991, becoming the first food rescue organization in Arkansas and one of the first nationwide.
Since Haut’s initiative, Potluck has redirected millions of pounds of landfill-bound food into food-insecure homes. The rescued food serves programs throughout the state including homeless shelters, soup kitchens and centers for women, veterans and children.
The nonprofit, while no longer run by the Junior League, has taken Haut’s vision even further by expanding its undertaking into composting, food education and mitigating greenhouse gases.
Chris Wyman assumed the role of executive director in December 2024. With 17 years of experience in urban agriculture, food security and sustainable farming, Wyman’s leadership comes at a crucial time for the organization as it navigates new obstacles and an extended mission.
That mission is more vital than ever as Arkansas has the highest percentage of people lacking reliable access to healthy food in the nation.
Credit: Jason Masters
Deanna Barlogie, Potluck board member and chair of its annual fundraiser Driving Away Hunger, sees an infrastructure issue.
“You’ve got these food deserts that are sometimes right in your own backyard,” Barlogie says, nodding to grocery store closures and costly gaps of time between applying for and receiving SNAP benefits. “We don’t have a system in place that is getting people the results they need.”
She’s quick to acknowledge these are much larger problems than Potluck can solve, but the nonprofit’s work is steeped in a sense of urgency, racing against the clock of expiring food and empty bellies.
“There’s nothing about [infrastructure change] that’s going to happen overnight, but because I’m a nuts-and-bolts, data-driven person, I wonder, ‘How do we make this work better to at least help give those around us a leg up to the next rung on the ladder?’” Barlogie says. “How do we streamline the process to make sure some of the most vulnerable people in our society get fed every day?”
Wyman dreams of creating a different Arkansas, one with community grocery stores stocked with rescued food where sales benefit organizations like Potluck and the Arkansas Foodbank.
Today the focus is also on growing the waste mitigation sector of the organization by starting compost piles at community gardens in the area to make soil and give back to the “regenerative full circle of life.”
Wyman notes it’s important to educate people on the nutrient value of various foods, even if they have softened or aren’t in serving form. Some are great for composting and some, even if deemed inedible for humans, can be given to livestock farmers, mitigating costs so they can complete their role in the food cycle.
Barlogie, who runs Raduno Brick Oven & Barroom and The Fold with her husband Bart, has firsthand experience with that cycle.
Credit: Jason Masters
“As a restaurant, you’ve already paid for the food and ingredients. You’ve taken the hit on the front end, so if you have things left over, the right thing to do is pass that on,” she says. “In my mind, I’ve always thought about that old adage, ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’”
Liability has been a holdup for the nonprofit in the past, but Arkansas HB1682, also known as the “Good Neighbor Act,” has expanded protections for food donors and recipients who act in good faith.
“It’s important to participate in this life cycle of food that is going to directly impact the same community that patronizes you,” Barlogie says.
Driving Away Hunger is one way both restaurants and citizens can get involved. This year’s event will be held at the Eastside Scrapyard, an event venue also under the Barlogie umbrella, where guests will enjoy an easy-going evening of bites from local restaurants, live music and a silent auction.
Most of Potluck’s support comes from foundations and grants, but events like Driving Away Hunger are integral in setting up the personal donation funding for the year.
“The services we offer are free and have been since the organization’s inception,” Wyman says. “We don’t always have the consistent large funding coming in like large scale nonprofits, so events like this are how we pay our personnel so we can keep things going.”
Wyman says the need in Arkansas is growing, and the organization is revamping standard operating procedures to try to meet that demand. Their agency count has grown by 55% because those agencies are seeing increased need, too.
Potluck has even employed the help of an app so volunteers can be part of the pick-up and drop-off process, too. Individuals can download Potluck Food Rescue, powered by Food Rescue Hero, and see where food is ready for rescuing.
“[Part of this increase] is that the stigma surrounding asking for help is dissolving,” Wyman says. “We don’t stigmatize. We’re all inclusive. We just want to make sure people get fed because it’s a moral value. It’s the only value that should be placed on food.”
DRIVING AWAY HUNGER
Benefiting Potluck Food Rescue
Sept. 25, 6 p.m. | Eastside Scrapyard
Info: potluckfoodrescue.org/events
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