School Kitchen Manager Fired For Giving Lunch To Hungry Kids

Okay so Della Curry, the kitchen manager at Dakota Valley Elementary School, was not fired by the Cherry Creek School District for feeding hungry kids – she was fired for not obeying the law which bans giving away food to those who don’t qualify for the free or reduced lunch programs.

“It is the policy to never give out free food…That is all fine and dandy until you have little kids not on the free and reduced program and their account goes negative,” she told the Denver Post.

Sometimes, the students’ families were just outside of qualifying for reduced lunch. “I had a first grader in front of me, crying, because she doesn’t have enough money for lunch. Yes, I gave her lunch. I’ll own that I broke the law. The law needs to change,” she told CBS Denver.

Cherry Creek School District released a statement shortly after her firing went public:

“The law does not require the school district to provide the meal to children who have forgotten their lunch money – that is a district decision. According to our practice, we provide hot meals to students the first three times they forget their lunch money and charge their parents’ accounts. The fourth time, we provide a cheese sandwich and milk. 

“The district has worked to keep lunch prices low and still meet the federal nutrition requirements. The costs of our lunch program are not covered by the prices we charge. At the end of the year, any unpaid accounts revert back to the general fund which also covers instruction, security, building maintenance and overall operations.”

Della paid for lunch on more than one occasion for kids who didn’t have the money to eat. Darnell Hill, a parent at the school, said Della came to his son’s rescue when the child forgot to bring food money to school. “Do something different than fire her. She’s trying to help,” Hill said.

Della feels her termination will be worthwhile if it sparks some change in the community and allows hungry children to get the nutrients they need at school, and not just a cheese sandwich and milk which ‘is not enough’. “If me getting fired for it is one way that we can try to change this, I’ll take it in a heartbeat,” she said.

A family of four reportedly needs to make about $31,000 or less for its children to be eligible for free lunches, and below $45,000 for reduced lunches. An elementary school lunch is $2.80 per day in the Cherry Creek School District, which includes Dakota Valley.

UPDATE:

The school district has since released a statement regarding the media coverage of Curry’s dismissal:

“Ms. Curry was not dismissed for giving free food to financially disadvantaged students. Numerous documented incidents resulted in the action taken by the Cherry Creek School District. Currently, we are unable to fully disclose all of the details concerning her dismissal without her permission, which she presently has declined to give. Should she change her mind, we will release all of the information associated with this investigation.

“We reiterate again that no child is allowed to go without food. Students who are on the free and reduced meal program always receive a full and free meal. Students who do not qualify for a Free and Reduced lunch can receive 3 full meals prior to receiving an alternate meal such as a turkey, chicken or cheese sandwich.”