Way back in April of 2012, a crazy idea was born out of the enjoyment I got out of connecting with other food bloggers – especially vegan food bloggers – and getting to know them and their food through their writing and recipes. It got me to thinking about what fun it would be to gather all of us in a room together, each of us bringing our favorite plant-based dishes to share with each other. Since we are all scattered to the four winds, the likelihood of that happening is akin to me winning the Powerball lottery twice in a row – or even just once.

But, the virtual world is, well, pretty darn real – in a way. Why not pick a day, make a dish and “bring” it to a party held on the Internet? At first I let that crazy idea stay put in my head, convinced that I wouldn’t be able to garner much interest. But then I just decided to go for it. If I didn’t try it certainly wasn’t going to happen and what was the harm in trying? A bruised ego and that’s about it. Much to my surprise and delight, the response was overwhelming. The enthusiasm began with that very first post of mine and continues to this day.

The first Potluck was a huge success, many of us getting more hits and followers than we’d ever had before. With those kinds of results and the warm feeling of community that the event generated, I immediately wanted to hold another Potluck. And the idea of a home base, a website, was born.

Our second Potluck took place on November 1, 2012 (also World Vegan Day) and included more bloggers, more tasty recipes and for the first time – sponsors – who helped spread the word about this amazing community of vegan and vegan-friendly bloggers coming together to enjoy a big meal together.  You can return again and again to enjoy past Potlucks, simply click on The Potlucks link.

This website will give you the whys and how-tos, provide links to past participants, showcase photos from the events and hopefully get you drooling to participate and add your own dish and your own unique stamp on a plant-based goodie.

Enrollment for the next Potluck, May 11, has closed – but you can enjoy the blogs and recipes that are part of this Potluck any time after May 11 by clicking here.  Be sure to subscribe to this site if you are interested in participating in future Potlucks.  The next one will happen in early November 2013.

If you’re a cookbook author, sell vegan products or offer vegan-friendly wares, consider becoming a Sponsor of the event.  In return for posting your logo and links to your site, we ask that you help us publicize the event.  Take a look at our impressive list of Sponsors here and then shoot me an email via the Contact form.

Food bloggers of all kinds are welcome to join the Potluck. What if you aren’t plant-based (vegan)? No worries. It doesn’t matter to me what you eat the other 364 days of the year (actually, it matters quite a lot to me what you eat, but I’ll save that for another venue!), only this one day. Prepare, write about and photograph a vegan dish (remember, that means NO animal products used in the recipe, not even cheese) to share with other Potluck participants as well as all of your blog readers. We had lots of non-vegan bloggers participate in the last Potluck and I think it’s safe to say it was an enjoyable experience for all.

VeganBloggersUnite! will act as the host site. Thank you, Lidia! (For more about VBU, please visit the VBU page on this site – you’ll find it under Resources.)  This is the spot where readers can pick up their plates, utensils, napkins and glassware and dig into the very first delicious, cruelty-free dish at the Potluck.

To get the nitty-gritty on how it all comes together (and what you need to do to help make it happen), please visit the How it Works page.

- Annie

PS: The VVP got the Post Punk Kitchen seal of approval recently – check it out!  They selected the VVP for their PPK 100 for 2012 list!