If you attend a potluck what do you expect the host to do/provide and what should attendees provide? Have you ever gone home starving? We were so hungry after one party that we stopped for McDonald's on the way home!

I think the host needs to try to coordinate who brings what dish and generally they should make a main dish so that even if everyone else just brings cookies people will generally have enough to eat. And they should let people know it's a potluck upfront so people know that before they accept the invite.