I avoid potlucks like I avoid the plague: I don’t know how the person prepared the food or their general health status.

Fifteen people were taken to hospitals Thursday morning after becoming sick at a U.S. Postal facility in west Mecklenburg County, N.C.

Medic, Mecklenburg County’s EMS agency, said they transported 15 people from the U.S. Postal facility around 6 a.m. when they became ill after consuming leftovers from a Veterans Day potluck.

Medic said the victims’ sicknesses are not life-threatening.

Officials at the facility said nearly 200 employees participated in a potluck dinner Tuesday evening to honor co-workers who are veterans. Some of the food was refrigerated overnight Tuesday.