Idaho Cafeteria Lady Fired After Giving Hungry Student Free Hot Meal

Dalene Bowden, an Idaho Cafeteria lady said she gave a 12-year-old girl a free hot lunch, but the school district claimed she stole a $1.70 and then relieved her of her job.

Bowden was canned by Pocatello/Chubbuck School District in a letter that outlined the cause as being her “theft of school district property and inaccurate transactions when ordering, receiving and serving food.”

Bowden said she offered to pay for the lunch she gave to the Irving Middle School student, but her supervisors instead put her on leave and moved forward with disciplinary actions. The school is supposed to notify parents once their child’s lunch bill reaches the limit. Bowden said cafeteria employees are instructed to take a tray away and dump it if the child can’t pay. The school district reports that the percentage of students eligible for free or reduced lunches is a percent less than the national average. They said they try their best to help as many of those eligible parents to apply. h/t foxla

Bowden has worked for the school district for the past three years and has had no other disciplinary actions. She said she plans to hire a lawyer and fight the termination.

Social media has adopted “Give Dalene Bowden her job back” in support Bowden. A GoFundMe account has also been set up to pay for her legal defense.