Short lunches are frustrating for students who like to enjoy eating food. FHS lunch periods need to be longer for students and staff alike. Students getting enough food is important for their mental health. According to Harvard Health, “Your brain is always ‘on.’ It takes care of your thoughts and movements, your breathing and heartbeat, your senses — it works hard 24/7, even while you’re asleep. This means your brain requires a constant supply of fuel.” Having as short lunches as FHS does limits the amount of food a student can eat. Taking 10-15 minutes in the lunch lines to get food can be frustrating for students and it can force them to eat their food very quickly.
At FHS there are three lunch shifts, each 25 minutes long, and they are divided by what class students have during third block. Having three lunches makes it hard to extend the lunch shifts because it takes more time away from academic studies. FHS should have two lunch shifts about 45 to 50 minutes long with enough time in between them to clean the cafeteria.
Students do not have enough time to get to the lunches, wait in the lines and eat their food without having to rush or worry about being late to their next class. Many students don’t have enough time to eat their food because of the amount of time that they spend in the lunch lines. “Getting into the lunch lines and having to wait in them is so annoying,” said freshman Claudia Harris. There are a lot of people at lunch and many students who like to cut to the front of the line and make it even harder for the people in the back to get their food and have enough time to eat. Kids run to the lunch room every day to make sure they are first in line. Some kids are stuck in the back and have to wait over half the time to get their lunch. Having longer lunches would make it easier for students to eat and for them to get to and from the cafeteria.
