NPR recently conducted a survey of kindergarten to fifth grade parents, asking how long their child typically gets to eat lunch. Twenty percent of parents replied that their child gets 15 minutes or less. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children receive at least 20 minutes to sit and eat lunch, not including the time it takes to walk to and from the cafeteria.
Many factors contribute to this nationwide lunch crunch. The School Nutrition Association points out that administrators often steal time from the lunch period to increase class instruction time in an effort to boost standardized test scores. Also, since more students are participating in free or reduced-price lunch programs across the country, lines are getting longer in the cafeteria. Some districts, such as Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky, have 70 percent of students participating in meals programs.
New federal school nutrition guidelines may also be contributing to the problem. Federal rules require schools to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables offered and consumed in the cafeteria. However, healthy foods can take longer to eat (think salad versus French fries).
Many districts cite budget constraints as obstacles to remedying the situation. Adding extra lunch periods, food stations, or service workers increases costs.
