Although lunch periods at the high school are longer than the 20-minute government requirement, students in busy lunch periods find they don’t have enough time to eat due to overcrowding of the cafeteria.
Asked how long she waits in the lunch line, freshman Megan Hofstetter said, “Fifteen minutes.” She added, “Sometimes there isn’t enough food.”
Sophomore Jeremy Cronig said he tries to be one of the first people in line so he can get his food early and still have time to eat.
Lunch periods are 30 minutes long. If a student such as Hofstetter waits in line for 15 minutes, she only has 15 minutes to eat, sometimes less depending on the time it takes to get to the cafeteria. Because of these hold-ups, some students do not have the federal government’s recommended time of 20 minutes to actually eat lunch.
A crowded cafeteria also means less available seating. Freshmen Christy O’Connell has sixth-period lunch, along with 751 other students. She said that chairs constantly have to be pulled up to tables so that everyone has a seat.
A version of this article appeared in print on 3 October 2012 on page 2 of The Shakerite.
