Dear Editor:  

Most of us can agree that school lunches are less than delectable. Many upperclassmen also feel the pinch when running out to get food and running back trying to beat the bell. Neenah does have a relatively short lunch when compared with other schools in our area. We have no passing time before lunch. We get 30 minutes for lunch and an eight minute passing time after lunch. For students who go out on release, there are 38 minutes to leave, eat, and make it to class.  In contrast, Oshkosh North and West have a 37 minute lunch with a five minute passing time before and after lunch. That comes to a total of 47 minutes, leaving them with an extra nine minutes to get out to lunch.

According to webMD.com when people take more time to eat they get fuller quicker. This leads to less calories consumed and long-term lower overweight and obesity rates. In Appleton, although start times vary, students get a release either fourth, fifth or sixth mod which is 48 minutes long plus five minute passing times before and after, a total of 58 minutes.

In an article published on Psychology Today socializing can lead to longer lives, stronger immune systems, and better mental health.  Many students sit with their friends at lunch and socialize. Some student may even treat the longer lunches as study halls completing homework assigned that day or even due at the end of their day, thus leading to less missing assignments.

A simple way to lengthen lunches would be to eliminate B lunch. Grouping freshmen and seniors  in A lunch and juniors and sophomores in C lunch. An alternative would be lengthening the school day by 10 minutes and getting rid of all the lunches, creating eight mods and give every student a mod off for lunch, similar to the Appleton school. I am not asking for an hour lunch, but an extra 10 minutes would be nice. It would also give students with a more rigorous class load a larger break in their day and lead to less stress throughout the year.

Sincerely,

Joe Delaney, junior