Do you wonder why lunch feels so short? That’s because it is! Our lunch period lasts about 25 minutes, when you think about how long it takes for students to walk to lunch, wait in long service lines, pay, and then sit, we realistically only have about 13 minutes left to eat a meal. Such a short lunch time keeps us from eating the important nutritional things on our plate, and heavily increases food waste. When students feel rushed, studies from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows students tend to eat the easily portable, highly processed foods first, such as french fries or chicken nuggets and throw away the healthy foods like vegetables and fruits that hold most of the nutrition we need. With only 13 minutes of actual eating time students consume 13% less of their entrees and fewer vegetables. Giving students at least a 30 minute lunch period dramatically increases their intake of nutrients and drastically reduces cafeteria food waste. Rushing a meal and eating quickly can be extremely damaging to a developing child’s digestive system, and create bad food habits which could eventually lead to long term childhood obesity. A longer lunch period is also extremely crucial for Academic Focus and Behavior in the classroom. Hungry rushed students create a poorly focused environment in the classroom. Studies published by the National Institutes of Health show that increasing lunch periods can tend to reduce behavioral issues near the end of the day and can increase academic focus. Students going back and forth between difficult classes without a properly timed mental break can lead to burnout, fatigue, and headaches. A 30 minute lunch period would give students more time to refuel and socialize and return to class with a clear focused mind. While some may disagree and say that a longer lunch would take away from crucial learning time, realistically a 5 minute difference wouldn’t affect our learning negatively but would only affect it positively. Overall students would benefit from a longer lunch period in many ways and should advocate on how this issue can cause mental and physical strain long term.
