Post by wvhsparent on Feb 10, 2008 9:04:08 GMT -6
www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-early-lunch_bd10feb10,1,181870.story
Yum. Lunch at 9 a.m.
Growing student populations and limited cafeteria space force schools to feed kids earlier -- and later -- in the day
By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune reporter
February 10, 2008
While many Chicagoans are still thinking about waffles and eggs, high school freshman Yanira Gomez digs into lunch: pizza and fries, dished out at 9:06 a.m.
Her next chance to eat is usually after 3 p.m., when she gets home from Steinmetz Academic Centre on Chicago's Northwest Side.
"Before school ends, I'm hungry again," said Gomez, whose last classes are algebra and honors biology. "I catch myself -- instead of thinking about my work, I'm thinking, 'When am I going to get out of this class and eat?'"
At schools throughout the region and the nation, space and schedule crunches are pushing some school lunch periods far from midday. Students find themselves sitting down to eat an hour or so after they arrive; others shortly before dismissal.
Some students like it and roll with the lunches, so to speak. They already eat at all hours of day and night.
But others, as well as many parents and nutritionists, say odd lunch hours wreak havoc, leaving kids so hungry it's difficult to concentrate and learn.
School officials concede it's not ideal but say they have no other option as they try to feed growing student populations with limited cafeteria capacity.
"It's easier to go to the taxpayers and get them to support more science labs or classrooms than one big cafeteria," said Paul Gillette, associate principal at Barrington High School, where lunch starts at about 10 a.m.
The United States Department of Agriculture mandates that school lunches be served between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but Chicago Public Schools have been granted state waivers, getting permission last fall to serve lunch outside those hours at 17 schools.
It's the only district to seek the exemption in the last four years, according to state officials. Plenty of suburban schools serve lunch early and late too. At St. Charles North and East High Schools, lunch starts about 10 a.m. It is served as early as 10:20 a.m. at Buffalo Grove High School, Prospect High School and John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
Classes at Steinmetz begin at 8 a.m., and lunch has started about an hour later for the last several years, Principal Eunice Madon said. During the seven lunch periods, about 1,900 students use the cafeteria, which seats 350.
'Seems to be normal'
"We haven't had any complaints," Madon said. "It just seems to be normal ... part of the fabric of our day."
Besides helping out kids who skip breakfast, some educators argue that an early lunch works well for athletes and commuters, who rise before 6 a.m. and are ravenous by 10 a.m.
Eating is not permitted outside the cafeteria at Steinmetz or at most Chicago Public Schools, but Madon and other principals say they see students scarfing down snacks en route to classes and usually look the other way.
A 2007 study by the Virginia-based School Nutrition Association suggests a fifth of elementary and 16 percent of high school schools start lunch at 10:30 a.m.; an additional 8 percent of high schools start even earlier.
"I think we would hope that ideally lunch would occur around midday," said Paula De Lucca, a food service director with the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and president of the Illinois School Nutrition Association. "We would like to see that students would be able to take in all the components of the meal that are nutritious and intended to be fully consumed by them."
In most of Chicago's 257 Catholic schools, lunches are served between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., De Lucca said.
All Chicago schools that have received a lunchtime waiver from the State Board of Education are high schools, except for Parker Elementary Community Academy, which opens at 8 a.m. Lunch is over by noon.
Of the 17 schools, Steinmetz and Gage Park High School start lunch just after 9 a.m. Thirteen start lunch before 10 a.m., and some continue lunch beyond 2 p.m.
A combination of overcrowding, limited space and scheduling flexibility led schools to start offering extended lunch times about a decade ago, Chicago Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn said.
The number of schools with extended lunch times increased a few years ago, he said, especially on the Northwest and Southwest Sides, where student population is booming.
In one of the few studies to examine the impact of early lunch on students, Pennsylvania State University researchers found in a 2003 survey that many early diners chose a la carte items, such as cookies and chips, rather than a hot meal.
Students and parents say that is often true here too.
At Barrington High School, a table full of senior girls munched on hot breadsticks at 10 a.m., cringing at the thought of eating any more.
"It's nice to have that break in the middle of the day," senior Kristin Ott said. "But it's kind of hard to think about eating a whole meal."
Entrees untouched
On a recent day, the glazed ham, mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli remained mostly untouched during the first lunch period at Taft, at 9:40 a.m. Students opted instead for spicy chicken sandwiches, corn dogs or a bag of chips.
"It's screwed up," said freshman Bart Kotlarek as he worked on Spanish during lunch, saying he wasn't hungry enough to eat. He knows he'll be starving in a couple hours but added, "I really don't like the idea of eating pizza at 9 o'clock."
Robin Crabbe, a parent of a 7th grader in Taft High School's junior high gifted program, said the early lunch hours fuel the already-erratic eating habits of teenagers.
Her daughter Sarah, she said, often skips breakfast at 6 a.m. because she'll be eating before 10 a.m. -- but then just snacks on chips and Gatorade.
"She eats like a maniac when she comes home from school," Crabbe said. "It's snacks and junk food. Then she's not hungry for dinner."
Seniors at Taft, however, say they don't mind waiting until 1:49 p.m for lunch. It's the last period, and they're free to stay or leave, which is what most do.
"I love it," said senior Diana Morton as she walked to catch a bus home recently. "There's vending machines all over -- you can always snack."
----------
mfergus@tribune.com
Yum. Lunch at 9 a.m.
Growing student populations and limited cafeteria space force schools to feed kids earlier -- and later -- in the day
By Mary Ann Fergus
Tribune reporter
February 10, 2008
While many Chicagoans are still thinking about waffles and eggs, high school freshman Yanira Gomez digs into lunch: pizza and fries, dished out at 9:06 a.m.
Her next chance to eat is usually after 3 p.m., when she gets home from Steinmetz Academic Centre on Chicago's Northwest Side.
"Before school ends, I'm hungry again," said Gomez, whose last classes are algebra and honors biology. "I catch myself -- instead of thinking about my work, I'm thinking, 'When am I going to get out of this class and eat?'"
At schools throughout the region and the nation, space and schedule crunches are pushing some school lunch periods far from midday. Students find themselves sitting down to eat an hour or so after they arrive; others shortly before dismissal.
Some students like it and roll with the lunches, so to speak. They already eat at all hours of day and night.
But others, as well as many parents and nutritionists, say odd lunch hours wreak havoc, leaving kids so hungry it's difficult to concentrate and learn.
School officials concede it's not ideal but say they have no other option as they try to feed growing student populations with limited cafeteria capacity.
"It's easier to go to the taxpayers and get them to support more science labs or classrooms than one big cafeteria," said Paul Gillette, associate principal at Barrington High School, where lunch starts at about 10 a.m.
The United States Department of Agriculture mandates that school lunches be served between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., but Chicago Public Schools have been granted state waivers, getting permission last fall to serve lunch outside those hours at 17 schools.
It's the only district to seek the exemption in the last four years, according to state officials. Plenty of suburban schools serve lunch early and late too. At St. Charles North and East High Schools, lunch starts about 10 a.m. It is served as early as 10:20 a.m. at Buffalo Grove High School, Prospect High School and John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights.
Classes at Steinmetz begin at 8 a.m., and lunch has started about an hour later for the last several years, Principal Eunice Madon said. During the seven lunch periods, about 1,900 students use the cafeteria, which seats 350.
'Seems to be normal'
"We haven't had any complaints," Madon said. "It just seems to be normal ... part of the fabric of our day."
Besides helping out kids who skip breakfast, some educators argue that an early lunch works well for athletes and commuters, who rise before 6 a.m. and are ravenous by 10 a.m.
Eating is not permitted outside the cafeteria at Steinmetz or at most Chicago Public Schools, but Madon and other principals say they see students scarfing down snacks en route to classes and usually look the other way.
A 2007 study by the Virginia-based School Nutrition Association suggests a fifth of elementary and 16 percent of high school schools start lunch at 10:30 a.m.; an additional 8 percent of high schools start even earlier.
"I think we would hope that ideally lunch would occur around midday," said Paula De Lucca, a food service director with the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and president of the Illinois School Nutrition Association. "We would like to see that students would be able to take in all the components of the meal that are nutritious and intended to be fully consumed by them."
In most of Chicago's 257 Catholic schools, lunches are served between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., De Lucca said.
All Chicago schools that have received a lunchtime waiver from the State Board of Education are high schools, except for Parker Elementary Community Academy, which opens at 8 a.m. Lunch is over by noon.
Of the 17 schools, Steinmetz and Gage Park High School start lunch just after 9 a.m. Thirteen start lunch before 10 a.m., and some continue lunch beyond 2 p.m.
A combination of overcrowding, limited space and scheduling flexibility led schools to start offering extended lunch times about a decade ago, Chicago Public Schools spokesman Mike Vaughn said.
The number of schools with extended lunch times increased a few years ago, he said, especially on the Northwest and Southwest Sides, where student population is booming.
In one of the few studies to examine the impact of early lunch on students, Pennsylvania State University researchers found in a 2003 survey that many early diners chose a la carte items, such as cookies and chips, rather than a hot meal.
Students and parents say that is often true here too.
At Barrington High School, a table full of senior girls munched on hot breadsticks at 10 a.m., cringing at the thought of eating any more.
"It's nice to have that break in the middle of the day," senior Kristin Ott said. "But it's kind of hard to think about eating a whole meal."
Entrees untouched
On a recent day, the glazed ham, mashed sweet potatoes and broccoli remained mostly untouched during the first lunch period at Taft, at 9:40 a.m. Students opted instead for spicy chicken sandwiches, corn dogs or a bag of chips.
"It's screwed up," said freshman Bart Kotlarek as he worked on Spanish during lunch, saying he wasn't hungry enough to eat. He knows he'll be starving in a couple hours but added, "I really don't like the idea of eating pizza at 9 o'clock."
Robin Crabbe, a parent of a 7th grader in Taft High School's junior high gifted program, said the early lunch hours fuel the already-erratic eating habits of teenagers.
Her daughter Sarah, she said, often skips breakfast at 6 a.m. because she'll be eating before 10 a.m. -- but then just snacks on chips and Gatorade.
"She eats like a maniac when she comes home from school," Crabbe said. "It's snacks and junk food. Then she's not hungry for dinner."
Seniors at Taft, however, say they don't mind waiting until 1:49 p.m for lunch. It's the last period, and they're free to stay or leave, which is what most do.
"I love it," said senior Diana Morton as she walked to catch a bus home recently. "There's vending machines all over -- you can always snack."
----------
mfergus@tribune.com
