The Clock is Ticking: Shorter School Lunches Affect Students

A small portion of food left in the lunch line by the time 4th lunch comes around. 

Photo Creds: Jillian Studebaker, The Powderhorn 

Jillian Studebaker, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

After Hurricane Helene, administrators saw a time for possible change at Watauga. The administrators sent out a survey to parents about how they should change the schedule for the upcoming school year. There were many options on how they could alter the schedule to support students but the ultimate result was adding an extra lunch. Adding this new lunch period made lunches 5 minutes shorter but also was supposed to reduce students in each period so the line went faster. 

“I feel like every year our freshman classes get larger,” said Ashley Winkler, Watauga High Administrator. “We have more students this year than we did last year. We really look at duty positions for staff. If you remember last year when we had 3 lunches, we had lunch tables behind the elevator, which also meant that we had to leave an adult in that assigned area. So we always look at ways to reduce teacher duty.”

Despite the good intentions behind this schedule change, complications have arisen, the main one being the lack of food options in the 4 lunches.

“If you don’t get there as quickly as you can, everything is gone,” said sophomore Yvonne Chen, who has 4th lunch. “Like, I go in, ‘oh we have chicken nuggets, do you want them?’ No. And then I just leave because I don’t want chicken nuggets.”

Students have experienced this in other lunches as well.

“There have been multiple times where food has run out during 1st lunch,” said sophomore Stephanie Auton. “Normally they have alternative lunch items, but once the main lunch items runs out, the rest follows. I often feel the need to rush, especially on days with more popular lunch items.”

Administrators are aware that demand for lunch items varies throughout the day and based on the menu. They have sought to address this by communicating with cafeteria staff.

“We actually note how many students we have in 1st and 2nd block, which is why attendance is so important. We sometimes report to the cafeteria staff how many kids we have on campus that day,” said Winkler. “It helps them to prepare for the number of students eating that day.” 

The administrators continually assess the lunch period to make sure it helps rather than causes further complications. Administrators want this change to help both students and teachers alike. Overall it has made the lunch lines easier to get through.

“Students who get lunch in the cafeteria are actually able to get through the line quicker,” said Winkler. “They are able to sit down quicker. While the overall lunchtime itself feels shorter and is shorter by a couple of minutes, it’s actually longer in terms of available seat time for students to eat.”

Fewer students per lunch, according to administrators, has helped the lunch line to move significantly faster than it has in past years. It took around 10 minutes for one student to get through the line last year. This year it takes around 5 minutes. Though the lunch line has moved faster, this shortened time has proven to bring along some added stress for students during their break, even if it is simply student perception.

“Everything just feels more rushed,” said Auton. “The rush to the line, the rush to eat, and the rush to get to your next class.”

Students cite that the entire school day feels more fast-paced this year. In addition to shorter lunches, the current schedule has shortened pass time to get to and from classes and students need to get cell phones in the lockers. Students have had to rush more than they did last year. 

Lunch has traditionally been the break in the day for students. That leaves the question of how the school makes sure kids are getting enough food. If they only bring in enough food for each student to get a normal lunch, then why is there not enough left for every student by the end of the day?

“They actually regulate the size of the scoop that the students take,” said Dr. Bailey, Watauga High Administrator. “Our cafeteria tries to enforce that but they’re not going to sit there because they don’t have enough staff to do that.”

Despite the fact that these changes have brought some complications, administrators view the 4 lunches as a successful change for the high school. They plan to hash out more of the problems, so the change will become something that works for students and teachers alike. Until then, students will need to learn to adjust.

“I understand why it was necessary to add another lunch period with the school's growing population,” said Auton. “However, on the other hand, it makes all the other lunches harder.”