Controversy regarding the duration of school lunches is a prominent topic among many students. Students at CCCHS are given 23 minutes to eat lunch; yet, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 20 minutes of seated lunch. However, not all 20 minutes go towards actually eating, students must allot time for standing in line and finding a seat, leaving roughly 15 or less minutes to eat.

Most students get school lunches rather than bringing their own, meaning that they must wait in line. Lines during lunch can become extremely long, so students towards the end of the line must sacrifice anywhere from five to ten minutes of lunch time just to get their food. Students who make this sacrifice must swiftly consume their meal before the bell rings. This could also cause health issues to arise, specifically problems with metabolism. Eating too quickly can cause a decrease in metabolism, which increases the rate of weight gain.

Not only is there minimal time to eat, but students who have third lunch must rush to get food. Since third lunch is the last lunch period, the amount of food left in the lines is sparse. It is not uncommon to overhear students complaining about how there was not enough food left after the first two lunch periods, and that both the bookstore, which sells snacks, and salad line were closed before they had a chance to buy something. Frequently, many students must go without eating altogether because of this problem. This is especially frustrating to the students who rely on school lunch for their main course of the day. There are many students who do not have an adequate food source at home, and if they have third lunch at school, they may end up getting less food than others who do not rely on the school lunches.

Ultimately, this issue is a problem that does not have an easy fix, but our school can make efforts to improve. Simple changes such as adding five more minutes to lunch or keeping all of the lines opened and stocked will drastically improve the situation.