FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions About Leading a Pod

For more FAQs, click here.

How do Pod leaders grow and maintain community member participation for their Pod? Visit our Leadership Toolkit for tips on establishing membership, finding speakers for Pod meetings, getting your Pod involved in the community, running a successful meeting, and maintaining enthusiasm.

What qualifies someone as a Pod member? In short, a member is an individual who expresses interest in joining your Pod via social media, an email list, or has attended your events (in person or virtually). A person does not have to be whole food, plant-based in order to be considered a Pod member, only interested in improving their health and working towards a greater understanding of the benefits of the WFPB lifestyle.

How many hours a month does a typical Pod leader dedicate to his or her Pod? On average, Pod leaders dedicate at least five hours a month, and are encouraged to organize regular monthly meetings of the Pod. Pods that meet once a month are most successful at keeping members engaged.

Are there any expenses associated with a Pod and who’s responsible for them? Depending on how you choose to run your Pod, there may be expenses associated with printing flyers and handouts, cooking demos, driving, and so on. You will either need to cover these costs out of pocket or you can ask for donations from members.

What does it mean to adhere to the Culinary Philosophy? PlantPure Communities advocates a whole food, plant-based diet, without animal products, which consists of: vegetables, including leafy greens, fruits, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts and seeds. The PPC Pod Network offers support for those practicing a whole food, plant-based lifestyle and we ask that Pod leaders educate about and advocate for this lifestyle.

Please review our Culinary Philosophy to learn more.

Is it okay for a dish to have oil in it at PPC Pod events? The focus of the PlantPure Communities Culinary Philosophy is on eating meals made from whole, plant-based foods without added oils and using minimal salt and sugar. However, many Pods allow for flexibility in added oil at potlucks, as it is often challenging for people who are transitioning to a whole food, plant-based diet to change everything at once.

At the beginning of this process many people rely on what we would call "transitional foods" - items that are highly processed (such as oil-based vegan cheeses, or store-bought veggie burgers which contain oil). Also, for some it is not a major health concern to have a small amount of oil in a dish. Having said this, we want to emphasize that the goal should be to eliminate oil from your diet. If you keep your mind open to cooking without oil, you will likely find you don’t miss it!

If you'd like potlucks to be oil free or not, it's helpful for Pod Leaders to ask their members to bring plant-based dishes with all of the ingredients listed. Then if someone wants to avoid oil (or gluten, nuts, sugar, etc.), they can make that decision after reviewing the ingredients. While it is all right for Pods to choose to take a "no oil" stance, it's important for them to make that clear in their marketing/description, and we highly recommend being lenient if someone brings a dish that doesn't fit their criteria.

What if someone brings a dish to my Pod's event which contains animal products? This is a circumstance where we think that's it's okay to prohibit the inclusion of a dish which is not plant-based. It is against the PPC culinary philosophy to include meat, dairy, eggs, honey, and/or seafood.

Can Pod Leaders host a speaker who is not whole food, plant-based or who has a particular cause that they may want to promote? There are a number of points to consider if you invite someone to speak who is not WFPB, or who has a particular cause they care strongly about and may want to promote. Make sure to understand what your speaker's agenda might be and ask them to share their presentation with you in advance. Send an email (so it's in writing) asking them to agree not to promote anything which is in conflict with the PPC Culinary Philosophy (not WFPB). If they'd like to speak about controversial topics, ask that they first discuss them with you so that you may decide whether or not they are appropriate topics for the meeting. For more suggestions on finding speakers for Pod meetings, visit the Finding Speakers for Pod Meetings sheet in the Leadership Toolkit.

Can alcohol be served at Pod events? Yes, it is permissible for PPC, a Pod, or another group to sponsor events where alcohol is served.