AURORA, Colo. – By Rachel Wenzlaff - Staff
A cafeteria manager at a Colorado Elementary School was fired after school officials discovered she was giving free lunches to students who couldn't afford them.
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Occasionally Della Curry would give meals away outright and sometimes she would pay for students' meals out of her own pocket.
"I had a first grader in front of me, crying, because she doesn't have enough money for lunch. Yes, I gave her a lunch," Curry said in an interview with KCNC.
The Cherry Creek School District released a statement saying, they are unable to comment on personnel issues, but said no child is denied lunch because of inability to pay.
"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 statement said.
But Curry doesn't think the cold sandwich and milk are sufficient.
"It is policy to never give out free food," Curry told The Denver Post. "That is all fine and dandy until you have little kids not on the free and reduced program and their account goes negative."
Curry says some children's parents make too much money to qualify for the free and reduced lunch program, but not enough to be able to afford lunch every day.
"If me getting fired for it is one way that we can try to change this, I'll take it in a heartbeat," Curry said. "I'll own that I broke the law but the law needs to change."
Curry plans to appeal to the school board about modifying the lunch policy.