Lunchtime
In the ‘80s, we heard there was no such thing as a free lunch. In the ‘90s, in the Los Angeles Unified schools, for many there’s no such thing as lunch.
In some schools across the district, the last kid in the cafeteria line ends up with less than 5 minutes to eat. So, despite federally funded lunch programs and health education classes about the basic food groups, kids in many of our schools are still hungry.
Why? In some schools, it’s a systems issue: too many kids in line, too few lines. In others, lunch has been shortened to 20 minutes to facilitate shorter workdays for teachers, bus schedules, etc. And in some schools, it’s simply the attitude of those scheduling the school day. At our school’s council recently, a teacher suggested we didn’t have a problem. “The same kid doesn’t end up at the end of the line every day,” she said.
Chew on this: Most prisoners in the state get 30 minutes to eat lunch. Dogs in the animal shelters get 30 minutes with their bowls. Adults who work 6 hours get at least 30 minutes.
It’s time for our school board--and maybe the state--to guarantee our children time to eat so they can be physically prepared to learn.
BARBARA BRONSON GRAY
Van Nuys
Start your day right
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