Longer Lunches In Schools

Children nibbling on carrot sticks and sitting with folded napkins would be picturesque when walking into any American lunchroom. But more often than not, we see individuals scarfing down a pack of Pringles in between broken conversations. Although nutrition mandates have piled up in the past few years, effects have been underwhelming. This is largely due to the manner in which students are fed. An obvious next step would be to increase the time given for lunch, bettering children’s health, teaching social skills, and improving academics.

Longer lunches have a profound effect on students by improving their health. One, the consumption of food that bodies need, like fruits and vegetables, rise when there are longer lunch periods. Student’s with a 20 minute lunch period have a 56%

likelihood of eating a fruit at lunch (Arce).

When lunches are increased by just 5 minutes, the number of students who consume a fruit increases to 69% (Arce). Students often miss out on fiber-rich whole grains, and calcium when they are rushed to eat. Even with small time increases, healthier eating choices are made by individuals. Next, longer lunch blocks allow individuals to consume more food. Students need enough calories to properly grow and develop, and think critically when they come back to the classroom for optimal performance in school. In short lunch periods minimal nutrition requirements are not met, leading to malnutrition, unhealthy weight loss, irritability, and distracted behaviors. Lastly, short lunches make it impossible to listen to your body. The time currently given for lunch produces unhealthy eating habits; 20 minutes is not enough to eat and digest food. When people consume meals faster, they feel

hungrier sooner, creating an unbalance in the body. Karen LeBillion, author of French Kids Eat Everything brings up the point that “we encourage [student’s] to gobble their food, when the research shows that eating more slowly is healthier (Chen). By eating slowly, proper digestion can be achieved, without causing heartburn or other irritating feelings. When students have an extended period for lunch, they are able to consume more nutritious produce, eat a sufficient amount of calories to fuel themselves, and learn to listen to their bodies.
Besides helping our bodies, social habits are taught when longer lunches are available. Due to the short time frame given to eat, schools produce a fast-food culture. There is no emphasis put on proper eating habits, only on eating as quickly as possible to finish a meal before a class starts. Dr. Arthur Agatston, cardiologist and creator of the South Beach Diet, says that “the teacher should be sitting at the table with a tablecloth for a civilized meal...it’s a huge learning opportunity for kids” (Chen). Many students don’t know how to eat properly, since schools reiterate the idea of fast paced food consumption. By increasing the lunch period in schools, students will learn proper eating habits, instead of rushed behaviors. Additionally, longer lunches give students a chance to socialize. When individuals are given short lunch periods, the choice tends to be eating over socializing, since there is no time for both. This leads to more chatter in classrooms. “Teachers always tell us to socialize at lunch and recess, not in the classroom. But we cannot do that if we are scarfing down our lunches in 11 minutes”, said girls at Seward Montessori School (Strauss). By increasing the period available for lunch, students learn how to communicate with one another, outside of a classroom. Lastly, stress will be reduced from students lives, when they are given longer lunch breaks. Taking a break from work helps your brain retain information and make connections. Additionally, it is a time to relax, before continuing on in a fast-paced environment. If lunch periods are increased in schools, students will learn necessary skills, such as eating habits, the art of conversation, and how to reduce stress by taking breaks.
It is argued that students become more distracted throughout the day when given a longer lunch period, as there is more time available to ‘goof off’ with friends. However, longer lunches correlate to increased academic performance. When students consume healthier meals, that are often prevalent during extended periods of lunch, test scores and grades improve. Jamie Oliver, an English celebrity chef, replaced typical school meals with more nutritious alternatives. This change resulted in a 4.5% increase in students who received a level 4 in their English Sats, and a 6% rise in those who achieved a level 5 in Science (Williams). Extended lunch periods allow wholesome foods to be consumed, increasing test scores, benefiting schools and students. Additionally, suspension and expulsion rates are reduced when longer lunches are allowed. Appleton Central High School in Wisconsin gave students an hour to consume lunch, in a program designed to improve healthy habits. The principle of this school, LuAnn Coenen, “[has] had zero weapons on campus, zero expulsions from the school, zero premature deaths or suicides, zero drugs or alcohol on campus”, since changes were made in the lunchroom (Students). Here, the lunch period was extended by 45 minutes, changing the environment positively. Finally, behavioral issues decrease when food without additives is consumed, as shown in the Lancet study (Wallis). Typically, shorter lunches increase the consumption of processed goods. By elongating lunch periods in schools the environment becomes more safe and more productive. Tests scores and academic performance can be expected to increase, suspension and expulsion will be reduced, and behavioral issues decrease.
At Natick High School, the time allowed for lunches prohibits students from finishing meals, and reduces the amount of conversations available. By lengthening the period by just 5 minutes, benefits would include expanded health, learned social habits, and increased concentration. Building a brand new school is pointless if a simple change, like the lunch schedule, can not be fixed. Additionally, all health regulations are meaningless, when there is not enough time in school lunches to appreciate them. Lunch should be a relaxing period that provides a midday break, not another rushed assignment, completed haphazardly.