It is noon and you just finished your math test, but you completely forgot that there is a biology test next class. You crammed all night for the math test, but you’d like to do well in biology too. Luckily, you have lunch next. You have two choices: you can get lunch, but sacrifice studying for biology, or you can study for biology and completely ignore your stomach’s needs. Unfortunately, with the academic rigor at Jefferson, this dilemma is a reality for many students. Luckily, there is a solution: take just one or two minutes away from each class period and each passing period to add 10 minutes to the lunch block.
A study done by the Harvard School of Public Health saw that students who had at least 25 minutes to eat their lunch decreased their food waste by over 10%. All students at Jefferson eat lunch at the same time, so the 40 minute lunch block is already halfway over by the time that the last student exits the lunch line. This does not account for the walking that students need to do in order to get to the cafeteria and to their next class after they finish their lunch—all within the 40 minute period. This usually leaves students that eat school lunches less than 10 minutes to actually eat their food.
A study from the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics showed that students who had over 25 minutes to eat their lunches would be significantly more likely to choose healthier food groups than students who have less than 20. With more time, students can slow down and process healthy food groups, which make them healthier and more ready for the next class. The less time a student has, the more inclined they are to go hungry and simply get through the rest of the academically challenging day on just a granola bar, which is obviously the less healthy option compared to eating a full meal. These “speed-eating” habits actually increase caloric intake and can set unhealthy eating habits for students in the long-term.
While opponents of this change may say that 40 minute lunches are already longer than most lunches at their base school, and that 50 minute lunches would disrupt the academic time allowed, the argument fails to address that in the last few minutes of class, students are already packing up and leaving. Most of the lessons at the end of class fall less on instructional time and more on guided practice. Losing just a couple minutes will not hurt any instructional lesson time. Even assessments are usually no more than 90 minutes, less than the 95 minute class period allotted for the test.
This change would be beneficial to teachers as well. According to a study from Education Week, over a third of teachers nationwide said that having over 40 minutes to eat their lunch would be best, especially considering that teachers often need to use their lunch period for meetings, extra tutoring with students and responding to emails. When they receive the extra grace of just 10 more minutes, they can take a brain-break and prepare themselves for the next lesson.
Ten extra minutes would overall be a great benefit for students, considering that even those who are not buying lunch still need to walk to their lunch eating location, eat their lunch, pack up, clean up, occasionally do any schoolwork that they need to do and socialize with friends. Just by taking around two minutes from each period, 10 more minutes would be a massive benefit to students and staff throughout the school.