Team DailyPedia
Aurora, Colorado – 35-year-old Della Curry was fired last week from her job as kitchen manager at Dakota Valley Elementary School for giving free lunches to students who did not have money.
The mother of two told CBS Denver that she would often see hungry students crying because they could not afford to pay for food. This is what drove her to give the kids a free lunch, which eventually got her fired.
About the FREE and REDUCED lunch program
In the school district, a family with four members should meet a required $31,000 income to qualify for the free lunch program. If the household income is below $45,000, students will be entitled to a reduced lunch program.
In cases where the students fail to qualify in either the free or reduced lunch program, they will only receive one slice of cheese on a hamburger bun and small carton of milk.
A heart for the needy
Curry knows the school policy to never give out free food. However, she could not just ignore the little kids that were crying. She also explained that the cheese in a burger bun is not enough so she would often buy lunch using her own money.
Last May 29, she posted on her Facebook account that she was let go from Cherry Creek School District for giving food to children who did not have money. She added that, “While I know that what I did was legally wrong, I do not feel bad about it and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I will never understand how the ‘best’ country in the world considers a cheese sandwich to be adequate nutrition for a child.”
Legally speaking
As for Cherry Creek School District, they said that they cannot comment on personal issues but they stressed that any person who has been terminated has disobeyed a written policy. They also released a statement saying that it is a district decision to not give meals to students who forget their lunch money. They further explained that they offer hot meals the first three times a child forgets his money then charges it to the parents’ accounts. But if it happens the fourth time, they only provide a cheese sandwich and a carton of milk.
Meanwhile, Curry understands the decision to fire her. She openly said that if getting fired is the way to address the school board to change the meal policy, she’ll do it again in a heartbeat.
