Longer Lunch Time

You may have noticed that your school lunchtime is too short. Here at Sutton, we have about 27 minutes to eat lunch. That may sound like enough time until you realize there are four grades in the cafeteria. This directly affects the students.

Getting your lunch in time for a social and healthy meal is difficult. This can cause mental health problems and physical health problems.

Let’s say a student is at home packing her lunch. She may want to pack a healthy lunch with protein and vegetables, but the chance of not being able to finish the meal or not being able to socialize may cause her to think twice and just pack a granola bar.

In fact, Hailey Black, a freshman here at Sutton, said her reasoning for packing a smaller lunch is because she knows she won’t have time to eat it all.

The next day, the student realizes she didn’t have enough food the previous lunch. She decides to buy lunch. She gets in line at 11:50 am after using the bathroom, and gets out of line at 12:00 pm. Now the student only has 10 minutes to eat lunch, and she can forget about socializing.

Eating too fast can also result in eating too much. An article explains that your brain takes about 20 minutes to send out signals that you are full. When you can’t take your time eating, people end up eating whatever they can because they don’t want to be hungry throughout the day, not thinking about their health.

A short lunchtime can also result in eating too little. A student might prioritize socializing with their friend rather than getting their proper nutrition. This can make it hard for the student to pay attention in class.

Recently, one of the last people in line spent seven minutes waiting for food. Katherine Patraitis, a student at Sutton, was asked if she would be able to finish her lunch in time, and she told me no. Sure enough, she didn’t end up finishing her sandwich.

If you don’t find the health and socialization of students important, studies show that taking a break throughout the day can help students be less stressed and more productive. This can help students pay attention and get better grades. Working for hours without a real break results in getting little to no work done.

We can fix this issue by having two lunches, and the lines would be significantly shorter. The bathroom would also be less full. Waiting in the bathroom can take up part of lunchtime, too.

So yes, something as simple as having a little more time to eat can help students be more productive, healthier, happier, and more social. Will it take work and extra planning? Yes, but it would be worth it.