To qualify for free lunch program, family of four must have annual income that does not exceed $31,000

offense to give away meals to students who did not qualify for a free or reduced-cost lunch program

Says she knew it was a

A school kitchen manager and married mother of two from Colorado was fired last week for offering hungry elementary school students free lunches when they could not afford to pay for them.

Until Friday, Della Curry, 35, had supervised food preparation at Dakota Valley Elementary School in Aurora.

The school staffer has revealed this week that she was let go for feeding hungry children in violation of district rules.

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No good deed: Colorado school kitchen manager Della Curry, 35 (left and right), was let go from her job last week for offering students free lunches, even though they had not qualified for the school's free or reduced-cost meal plans

Lunch lady: Curry was hired about a year ago to run Dakota Valley Elementary School's kitchens

Darnel Hill, a father (pictured) whose son she helped when he forgot his lunch money said: 'Don't fire her she was trying to help'

'I had a first grader in front of me, crying, because she doesn't have enough money for lunch,' Curry told the station CBS Denver. 'Yes, I gave her lunch.'

The Cherry Creek School District offers students free and reduced-price meal plans. To qualify for the free lunch program, a family of four must have an annual income that does not exceed $31,000.

Families that bring in $45,000 can qualify for a discounted lunch program.

But students whose families do not meet the district's strict income parameters receive no more than a single slice of cheese on a hamburger bun and a small carton of milk, according to Ms Curry.

The former school kitchen manager, who has two young children of her own, said she often paid for kids’ lunch out of her own pocket to keep them nourished.

‘Kids whose parents make too much money to qualify, but a lot of times they don't have enough money to eat,’ she explained.

Paltry lunch: Curry said those students who do not qualify for a free or reduced-cost meal plan receive a hamburger bun with a single slice of cheese and a small carton of milk

In a Facebook post announcing her termination, Ms Curry said that even though she has violated her employer's policy, she has no regrets.

'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,' she wrote.

'I will never understand how the "best" country in the world considers a cheese sandwich to be adequate nutrition for a child. I will never understand how one of the richest countries in the world cannot provide lunch for its children. '

Darnel Hill, a father whose son she helped when he forgot his lunch money said: 'Don't fire her she was trying to help. Do something different.'

Defiant: Curry said she has no regrets and, if given the chance, would have offered hungry children free food all over again

In a later post, Ms Curry stressed that she was terminated not by the elementary school itself but by a separate school district entity known as Food and Nutrition Services.

Cherry Creek School District responded to the story with a statement released to the local station explaining that they are not legally obligated to provide food to children who have forgotten their lunch money.

'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 statement read.

'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. '

Curry was hired as a kitchen manager about a year ago. She admitted that she knew going in that handing out about 20 free lunches to children who didn't qualify for the school's meal plans was a fireable offense.

‘If me getting fired for it is one way that we can try to change this, I'll take it in a heartbeat,’ she told the channel WTSP.