Free-for-All Thanksgiving Dinner in California Leads to 3 Deaths, 14 Hospitalizations

Your Thanksgiving dinner may have ended with political bickering, a hangover, or morning-after binge-eating shame.

But it did not end as badly as it did for 17 people who attended a Thanksgiving dinner at the American Legion Hall in Antioch, California. After eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal comprised of turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, green beans and creamed corn, 17 attendees were admitted to hospital, three of whom have died, according to the LA Times.

The provenance of the illness remains a mystery, and officials aren't jumping to any conclusions. Most of those 17 fell ill within 24 hours of the meal and their symptoms included nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

And while all signs may point to food poisoning being at the root of the hospitalizations, it's worth noting that 835 people attended the event and, as any loyal reader of MUNCHIES knows, you don't have to actually eat contaminated food to get food poisoning.

Golden Hills Community Church, who hosted the event, said in a press statement that they have been cooperating with local health authorities. "We met with Contra Costa Health officials seeking to assist them in any way possible to determine the source of the illness," the statement said. "The preliminary evidence seemed to point away from the food that we served to over 800 people that day."

The Church initially said it was too soon to point the finger at them, because restaurants and volunteers also donated food. But they changed their tune in their updated press release. "Evidence that once pointed away from the meal that we provided to so many, now seems to point back that direction," it said.

During a press conference, Contra Costa's health officer said that, based on symptoms, a "foodborne illness" seems to be the cause of the illness, but that results were not conclusive at this point. "We're interviewing people that we know are ill, and we're also trying to find people who had some symptoms and did not seek healthcare," Dr. Louise McNitt said.

So, no matter how bad (or good) your Thanksgiving meal was, be sure to give thanks for not getting life-threatening vomiting and diarrhea the next day.