In a school of 2,016 students, is 25 minutes too short for lunch? With around 670 kids in each lunch period, do we need more time to eat? The capacity of the cafeteria at Page is 550 students, and there are 80 seats at tables in the Shipyard and 99 at Treasure Island. This gives Page a total seating capacity of 729 students at tables. Given that there are 3 lunch periods, seating is not the problem.

The issue with 25 minutes being too short is that kids that buy their lunch do not get enough time to eat, given the long lines. Many students are forced to choke down their food in five minutes or less to make it back to class in time. According to the Page Cafeteria Manager Annette Purvis, the cafeteria feeds around 550 to 800 kids at lunchtime. “It really depends on the weather. If it’s sunny, more kids like to eat outside,” says Purvis. Mrs. Purvis is not allowed to release exact statistics.

Nutrition also plays a factor in the length of lunch periods. Per the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, students with less than 20 minutes to eat consume significantly less of their entrees, milk and vegetables than students who aren’t rushed. They are also less likely to select a fruit or vegetable to be part of their meal. When students are full, they perform better on tests and in the classroom. Their behavior also improves. While we have federal guidelines on the nutritional value of meals, there are no regulations on how long lunch periods should be.

Finally, we should make lunch periods longer at Page for seniors. They have the privilege of going off campus to eat, and making it from school to Cookout and back to school in 25 minutes is no small feat. What is the point of having this privilege if there is barely enough time to drive there and back, let alone eat?

I think we should make lunch periods longer at Page. It would improve moral, the health of students by giving them a proper time to eat, and benefit seniors who go off campus to eat.