Every day when I eat lunch, I always feel rushed because there is only 30 minutes to get to the cafeteria and eat my food before I have to go to my next class.
But I am not the only one who experiences this problem, because kids at schools feel rushed to eat lunch fast all over the world and it is becoming a problem at many schools.
Once the lunch bell rings a student goes to the lunch room, which takes up to 5 minutes, then they wait in line, which could take up to 10 minutes and then they have to eat all of the food before the lunch period ends.
A school period is 45 minutes and a traditional block class is one hour and 30 minutes, but the school only gives us 30 minutes to get to the lunch room, get your food, eat and go to the bathroom. It’s not enough time.
¨We think 30 minutes, even 40 would be better, but we feel like we only get about 15, especially after going through the line,¨ students Zoey Welch, Phoebe Kliem and London Peterson said.
The CDC recommends 20 minutes of seat time to eat your lunch. At first it seems that the school achieves this goal. However, for students who buy lunch it doesn’t. Students report it takes three to five minutes to walk down to the lunchroom, 10 minutes to stand in the lunch line, and that dismissal can be three to five minutes before the end of the lunch period. This means that students get only 15 minutes to eat their lunch.
Lunch time should be a break from an otherwise stressful day at school.
If that wasn’t enough, an unforeseen problem could occur like a backup in line or more people in line per usual further delaying the amount of lunch time you have in order to eat.
All of this is a problem because students without enough time can´t finish all of their food, making them hungrier and not able to think as well as they usually can.
This can lead to people focusing less on their schoolwork because they are too hungry to focus on their class and schoolwork. The California Learning Resource Network cited “school lunches influence cognitive function, academic performance, and long-term health trajectories. But we need to time to eat them.
Over time, this can lead to worse test and quiz grades overall, leading to an average grade decrease for the student.
A solution to this is to make lunch 45 minutes long or a full school period instead of only half an hour, giving more time for people to go to lunch, get their food and eat.
Extending the lunch period would create less stress to eat quickly and give you more time to eat and prepare for your next class.
However, there are a few things that the students of the schools can do in order to give themselves more time during the lunch periods.
One solution students can use is to pack your own lunch so you don’t have to wait in line for your lunch costing time and can just get silverware and start eating when you get to the cafeteria.
By packing your own lunch, you guarantee food you like and avoid situations where there is no food at the cafeteria that you can eat with your dietary restrictions.
And over time, you get less hungry and focus more leading to a better mood and better grades.
All that is needed is a few extra minutes at lunchtime to get your food and eat it in order to improve grades of high schoolers around the county of Ohio.
