A woman who allegedly gave her children a forged check to pay for food pleaded not guilty Thursday in Mower County District Court to felony storing methamphetamine paraphernalia in the presence of a child and gross misdemeanor check forgery.

Jennifer Marie Ambriz, 37, of Austin allegedly used a check from the same account as Jenny Guadalupe Gutierrez, who was recently charged with felony theft by check.

According to the court report, officers responded to a call of a bad check at Kenny’s Oak Grill at 1:12 p.m. on July 19. The owner gave the police an “American Express” check for $62 given to him by two children who came in to pay for food. The owner told police he had received on the same account, under the name “Jenny Gutierrez” that came back as unauthorized.

Police asked the children where they got the check and one of them said, “My mom.”Outside, the police saw that the vehicle in which the children had arrived was in the parking lot. Ambriz was in it.

Police spoke to Ambriz, who confirmed her kids had gone inside to get the food and she had written and gave them the check. An officer asked if she had more checks and she gave him a checkbook from her purse.

The officer then spoke to a detective, who told him about other incidents involving checks that belonged to “Jenny Gutierrez.” Another officer informed him that Ambriz had other checks she had written and was in possession of a methamphetamine pipe. Ambriz was then arrested.

She is scheduled for a pre-trial on Dec. 1.