At South Lakes High School, students have 30 minutes to eat their lunch, including the time it takes to get into the lunchroom, waiting for their meal, and locating where to sit. By the time students get to their seats and start to eat, their time is reduced to 15 minutes or less in many cases, not including using the bathroom. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that students get at least 20 minutes for lunch and are more likely to enjoy their food and eat healthier options when not rushed. Unlike French Schools, which have 90 minutes to 2 hours of lunch time, Fairfax Public County Schools and other districts in the U.S. don’t offer more than 45 minutes.
The Pros about having more lunchtime for students is that they get more time to eat, use the bathroom, socialize, and digest food. Furthermore, raising the school lunch time increases the school day and takes time away from the classroom. Melissa Pflugh Prescott, Assistant Professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois states: “During shorter lunch periods, children ate significantly less of the fruit and vegetable parts of their meal. [Despite] there was no significant difference in the amount of beverages or entrees they consumed. It makes sense that you might eat the part of the meal you look forward to first. [Moreover,] if there’s enough time left you might go towards the other parts. But if there’s not enough time those items suffer, and those tend to be fruits and vegetables.”
I decided to see how much time it took to get to the cafeteria, wait in line, use the bathroom, and get back to class. It took 10 minutes to do that, leaving 15 minutes to eat your lunch since you have to leave 5 minutes before the end of lunch.
Mrs. Trigiano, an English and Journalism Teacher, said: “I think the amount of time is not sufficient for students to have the time to actually get in line. Get food, actually eat the food, digest it properly, and then return to class on time, and also makes it very difficult for the teachers as well.” When asked if teachers had an inconvenience with lunch time, she said: “It’s always a challenge for us teachers. I mean all the teachers complain that the lunch time is too short and students complain about the same thing.” When asked if she wants more time, Mrs. Trigiano said: “Oh absolutely, and even if it’s only ten minutes it would make a total difference even if they added 10 minutes to the end of the day, I would be okay with it.”
The second person I interviewed is Freshman, Abigail Roscoe. She went to a school where the lunch time was an hour and she said: “Yeah, I was able to eat all my lunch and was able to do assignments for school instead of having to rush back to class. Abigail said, “I think the amount of time we have to eat lunch is too short and we need more time for it.” Rosco also stated: “I don’t get to my class on time because the transition is included into the lunch time, and I never finish everything I pack in my lunch because I don’t have enough time.”
In conclusion, many students and teachers feel that the 30 minutes at South Lakes High School is not long enough. Which leaves the community demanding for a change to be brought to the official school schedule, allowing for satisfactory brunches.
