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Explore the buzz and stories behind Prohibition Pizza. From community highlights to behind-the-scenes moments, see what makes us more than just a pizza shop.
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High Springs restaurant donates “piggy bags” after major food loss from Hurricane Helene

Kelly Potter stands outside Prohibition Pizza, the High Springs restaurant she runs with her husband Dave Potter. (Nadia Kusiima/ WUFT News)
Days before Prohibition Pizza in High Springs planned to kick off its festivities for National Pizza Month, Hurricane Helene ripped through Florida’s Big Bend, leaving the restaurant without power from Sept. 26 to Sept. 29.
Kelly Potter, who owns and runs Prohibition Pizza with her husband, Dave Potter, and their two sons, said the restaurant lost weeks' worth of food and prepared ingredients.
“We had to dispose of everything. Everything,” Kelly Potter said.
Without a generator, the pizza dough, meats, cheeses, vegetables and desserts, were no longer safe to eat or sell to humans. Instead of throwing it away, Potter took to Facebook to invite farmers and pig owners to pick up bags of food to give to their animals for whom the food would still be safe to eat.
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“We are happy that High Springs has something like this,” she said. “It’s great for the community.”

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Dave Potter, who owns Prohibition Pizza with his wife Kelly Potter, prepares an order. (Nadia Kusiima/ WUFT News)
On Sept 28., local farmers responded and arrived at Prohibition Pizza with trucks to fill. Some farmers took enough food to feed dozens of pigs. Potter also took bags home to her cows.
One customer, Alanna Carinio, who works for Alachua County Solid Waste and Resource Recovery, saw the posts on Facebook and appreciated their efforts. “We are happy that High Springs has something like this,” she said. “It’s great for the community.” Carinio has celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by eating gluten. She said she drives from northwest Gainesville to Prohibition Pizza for their gluten-free pizza.
Kelly and Dave Potter work in the open kitchen in front of the register at Prohibition Pizza They celebrated the restaurant’s first anniversary in April. (Nadia Kusiima/ WUFT News)
This was not the first time Potter had handed out “piggy bags,” the term she uses to describe the food waste that will be donated to nearby farms. During the restaurant's early days, Potter would give away food after recipe testing.
After days without power, she had to cancel three orders. She said she worried that her employees would start looking for work elsewhere. Though an exact figure is yet to be confirmed, Potter said the loss was “easily over $20,000,” considering labor costs and sales lost.
Though the community has been very supportive, Potter said she felt the city could’ve done more to support other vulnerable communities and keep small businesses informed about the city’s emergency plan.
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“Never in my mind would I have ever imagined we’d be in this situation,” she said.

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Sliced meats and cheeses from the walk-in refrigerator to be mixed and placed in bags. The bags were labeled “not safe for human consumption.” (Courtesy of Kelly Potter)
Potter said when smaller storms pass through the city, Main Street typically has its power restored quickly. She said one of the neighboring businesses had its generator removed because the owners expected the city to prioritize restoring power to the area.
“Never in my mind would I have ever imagined we’d be in this situation,” she said. Power in the Potter home was not restored until the evening of Oct. 2, almost a week after the hurricane passed.
Kevin Mangan, the public information officer for High Springs said the city’s priority was ensuring its infrastructure was intact.
“The power is not the responsibility of the city,” he said. “The city of High Springs is serviced by Duke Energy and Clay Electric so it's up to them and their mutual aid crews to get the power restored.”
Stacks of food storage containers after they were emptied and the food distributed in bags for members of the community to use as animal feed. (Courtesy of Kelly Potter)restaurant’s first anniversary in April. (Nadia Kusiima/ WUFT News)

Following a hurricane, crews have to ensure the weather conditions are calm before they can safely operate They have to assess the damage to the lines and transformers before sending out teams to fix them. They prioritize restoring power to large areas that affect many people, he said.

“It takes time for the power crews to get out there and restore power,” he said. “It’s not a matter of flipping a switch.”

After the power was restored, it took two more days for the restaurant to reopen as the staff needed time to clean, restock, and prepare.

As business slowly picks up again, Potter said the loss of momentum has been frustrating. October is typically a busy time for them.

“I feel like we are back at square one, and I'm starting my business all over again,” she said.

Though the building, located at 18559 NW 237th St., had no physical damage, the effects of Hurricane Helene left a major dent.

Ahead of Hurricane Milton, Mangan said residents were urged to be better prepared and to expect power outages lasting several days.

Prohibition Pizza closed early, ahead of the hurricane that made landfall on Wednesday. They lost power for a few hours but reopened Friday at 11 a.m.

Article Link
https://www.wuft.org/business-news/2024-10-15/high-springs-restaurant-donates-piggy-bags-after-major-food-loss-from-hurricane-helene

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