No good deed goes unrewarded, but in the case of cafeteria worker Dalene Bowden, her good deed ironically even warranted her punishment.
According to NBC affiliate KPVI, Bowden used to serve at the Irving Middle School in Pocatello in the U.S. state of Idaho. When a hungry 12-year-old student who had no lunch money approached her last Dec. 15, Bowden gave her a hot meal.
"I handed her the food and said, 'Here, we'll take care of it in a minute,"' Bowden shared. The cafeteria lady even offered to shell out the $1.70 cost of the lunch.
Unfortunately, Bowden's supervisor did not like what she did. Bowden was placed on leave, and on Monday, she received a registered letter from the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District informing her that she had officially been fired for theft of school property.
"My heart hurts. I truly loved my job, and I can't say that I wouldn't do it again," said Bowden. She has worked at the school cafeteria for three years already.
The sacking of Bowden infuriated a lot of netizens. They started a petition called "Don't Fire a Kind Lunch Lady: Children Shouldn't Go Hungry!"
School officials refused to comment regarding the matter, but spokeswoman for the district Shelley Allen explained that parents are notified if their children have more than an $11 unpaid balance on their cafeteria account. Even though they have exceeded their limit, they will still be given something to eat, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk.
However, if the students exceed their $11 credit limit, workers are instructed to take their trays away and throw out the food.
Netizens think that humiliating a child in front of his or her peers is wrong. "This situation could be handled in so many more compassionate ways: They could allow the child to work in the kitchen or cleaning/ wiping down tables in the cafeteria or possibly staying after games to pick up trash in order to earn their lunch if their balance is exceeded," they said. "We do not need to humiliate or demean any child or worker in the situation. Students must be provided with an adequate meal."
The petition has received over 75,000 supporters already.
