(RALEIGH) -- The teacher who decided a four-year-old girl's home-packed lunch was not nutritious enough has been suspended. The incident happened in January at a pre-K program in Hoke County.

The girl's mother sent her to school with a turkey and cheese sandwich, a banana, chips, and apple juice. A teacher who inspected the lunch said it did not meet state guidelines, and decided to supplement it with chicken nuggets and milk from the cafeteria.

Rick Henderson, Managing Editor of the Carolina Journal, said the teacher was suspended for meeting guidelines she had been instructed to follow. "What she did by providing cafeteria food to students whose homemade lunches didn't meet government standards was perfectly in line the state guidelines for addressing such a matter," said Henderson.

Henderson, whose publication broke the story, said the girl's mother thought highly of the teacher and is upset about the suspension. The mother does not blame the teach for the incident.  She blames policy that mandates government overreach.

Henderson said school funding is dependent on meeting guidelines like the nutritional standards, and schools enforce them for fear of losing money.