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Pros & Cons of Longer School Lunches

School lunches are traditionally short. Advocates for school nutrition, students and some teachers support longer school lunches. Allowing students more time to eat lunch gives them a chance to benefit from the daily break. At the same time, longer school lunches create an opportunity for schools disruptions.

  1. More Time to Eat

    • School lunch breaks include the time spent walking to the cafeteria and waiting in line for meals. The minutes spent traveling to the table and cleaning up after eating reduce the time available for eating. Most U.S. students spend only a few minutes eating their lunch. Longer school lunches give students a chance to enjoy their meals.

    Chance to Socialize

    • Students who spend most of the lunch period waiting for food do not get a chance to talk to friends. Not all schools have recess or extended breaks between classes. In these schools, the lunch period is often the only time children are able to talk to friends. Longer lunch breaks give students more opportunities to enjoy social interaction with peers. Healthy socialization is an important lesson that will help students later in life.

    Break for School Faculty

    • Teachers who are responsible for taking students to and from class or who only take a break during lunch also would benefit from longer school lunches. An extended lunch period gives teachers a chance to eat their own meals without interruption. Teachers and other staff would be able to have meetings or take care of other administrative tasks during the school day while students are having lunch.

    Reduces Learning Time

    • Teachers usually plan lessons months in advance and a specific time period is allocated to each lesson. Having longer lunch periods would reduce the amount of time spent in class learning lessons. Teachers would have less time to spend teaching students new concepts.

    School Disruptions

    • Longer school lunch periods create more opportunities for students to leave school property and return without being detected. Shorter school lunches make it easier for school officials to keep track of students during lunch or catch students who attempt to leave property.

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