"a general fear of running out of food at social gatherings such as parties." I went to a social xmas party a few years back, and the rule was "you have to bri

"a general fear of running out of food at social gatherings such as parties." I went to a social xmas party a few years back, and the rule was "you have to bring a dish to share". No one brings enough to just share with just one other person - everyone brings a dish/item that serves at least 4 people. We had a gathering of about 30 people and enough food to serve 150. They changed the rule the next year (I think that was the first and only year they tried that rule, IIRC).