When I returned to school after a year-long quarantine, I noticed that Arcadia High School’s (AHS) lunchtime felt extremely rushed compared to my at-home lunches. Since I had been spending an hour or more for at-home meals, it was a shock for me to adapt to the hectic in-person bell schedule, especially the all-too-brief lunch period.

At AHS, the typical student follows a six-period bell schedule, with each class lasting 57 minutes on most days. On Wednesdays, the class periods are shortened to 47 minutes. Students have seven minutes for passing between classes and are given 41 minutes for lunch.

One of the most common criticisms amongst AHS alumni regarding their high school experiences points towards the lack of time dealing with personal health—both mental and physical. Despite trying their best to achieve maximum time efficiency, many students feel overwhelmed by the demands of their academic workload and extracurricular activities. But a very simple way to reduce stress is to extend our lunchtime.

Simply put, 41 minutes for lunch is not enough. At AHS, lunchtime is not just used for lunch, but also for club meetings, extracurricular practices, and teacher-student meetings where students can ask additional questions outside of class time. This short time period leaves the students with very little time to actually eat lunch. You may wonder why students don’t just eat during their club meetings or during band practices. Well, some teachers explicitly prohibit eating in classrooms for sanitary reasons. After the aforementioned activities conclude, it is nearly impossible to get food from the cafeteria if students didn’t bring sack lunches and still have time to eat during the remaining time. Furthermore, if eating in the classroom after the lunch period ends is out of the question, many simply skip lunch altogether. 

Attending four lessons in the morning prior to the bell for lunchtime can be draining for students. It is necessary for students to take a rest and recharge, not just mentally but also physically. During the extended lunchtime, students could have the opportunity to socialize with their peers, take a break for themselves, and enjoy outdoor activities like a quick game of basketball or volleyball. 

Studies have revealed that longer school lunch hours are linked to higher student intake of nutritious foods, including more fruits and vegetables and less plate waste. Schools can educate kids about nutrition, allow them the chance to test new meals before they are served on the menu, and ensure that they have at least 20 minutes of “seat time” to enjoy their meal and interact with one another. Yet, with only 41 minutes, all of these benefits are near-impossible luxuries. Even with no competing activities, the long lines at the crowded cafeteria often mean that it could take 20 minutes just  to get the food.

To make lunchtime a stress-reducing period rather than a period of anxiety and hunger, lunchtime should be extended to allow students sufficient time to get the nutrition they need to continue working productively, engage in their extracurricular activities, and dabble in their social lives. 

Some may argue that a longer lunchtime would cause school to get out later, ultimately causing a delay in students getting to extracurriculars and back home, as well as a loss in sunlight for athletics. However, this is not a valid claim because extending lunch will only allow for higher productivity rates because of the breather that students are allowed to take with the extra time allotted. Additionally, extending lunch by around ten minutes would not cause a dramatic shift in scheduling for extracurriculars and athletics. 

At AHS, it would be reasonable to have lunchtime be extended by 12 minutes. To accommodate for the longer lunch period, class periods can be shortened to around 53 minutes on most weekdays, and 43 minutes on Wednesdays. The additional 12 minutes will provide enough time for more students to eat properly nutritious meals and follow through on their busy schedules. Therefore, by simply tweaking the time allotments for both class times and lunchtime, students will reap physical, mental, and social benefits. 

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