School lunches are no picnic

At many schools across the state, children have to gobble their lunches in 20 minutes or less.

Intent on giving children a more leisurely lunch, a Peabody lawmaker is pushing a measure to mandate 30-minute lunch periods in schools.

''Our children's physical and emotional needs are coming second to MCAS scores in our state right now," said state Representative Joyce A. Spiliotis, a Peabody Democrat. ''If children aren't eating and don't get enough physical exercise, then they're not going to get back to class and pay attention. They're going to be lackadaisical and lethargic."

Abbreviated lunch periods have been a growing concern to parents and nutrition groups. Schools have either reduced lunch time or kept it at a minimum and have boosted class time to respond to pressure to succeed on state tests. Neither the state nor the federal government dictates how much time children should have to eat lunch; it's up to local school systems to design daily schedules.

In just two years, the average lunch period in elementary schools across the nation has decreased from about 30 minutes to 23.7 minutes, according to the School Nutrition Association in Alexandria, Va. The association recommends 26 minutes for lunch and another four minutes to get to the cafeteria.

Spiliotis attended Peabody public schools in the 1950s and remembers having at least a half-hour for lunch. She drafted her measure after a controversy in the Peabody public schools about too little time for recess and lunch. The school system has 20 minutes for lunch and 10 minutes for recess; it used to include 20 minutes for recess.

Parents say that an extra five to 10 minutes might not seem like much, but can make a difference.

''That would be wonderful to know they actually have time to get through line, sit down, and eat," said Ann Mitsopoulos of Peabody, a parent of three. ''We're trying to tell the kids not to eat 90 miles an hour, to chew and digest their food. And then we put them in school, tell them to hurry up and eat and get back to class."

But requiring a 30-minute lunch period would mean taking time from somewhere else, said Nadine Binkley, Peabody's superintendent of schools. Binkley said she would not take time from recess, so the system either would have to extend the school day or take the extra time for lunch from academics.

''When you have a limited amount of time in the school day, and with all the mandates you've got to cover, something's got to give," Binkley said.

She also said that 20 minutes is enough. ''If we had to keep kids in lunch for an extra 10 minutes, for some kids, just sitting that long is really difficult," she said.

Spiliotis acknowledged that her bill might require a longer school day, which could be expensive and require negotiations with teachers' unions. ''There might be other subjects that they could eliminate a few minutes of, especially in the lower grades," she said.

The Legislature's Joint Education Committee plans to hold hearings on the measure next month. Representative Patricia A. Haddad, the Education Committee's cochairwoman and a former health teacher, said she was intrigued by the bill and is willing to consider it.

''It [would lead to] a far-reaching philosophical discussion that we really need to talk about," said Haddad, a Somerset Democrat. She said that children need sufficient time to eat and that schools should address health as well as academic issues.

But Senator Robert A. Antonioni, the Education Committee's other cochairman, is leery about mandating how schools schedule lunch.

''I'll look at the concerns, and I'm not suggesting that the bill is not legitimate," said Antonioni, a Leominster Democrat. ''But the Legislature, in my opinion, isn't well equipped to take apart the school day. Every problem doesn't beg a legislative solution."

Erik Peterson, spokesman for the School Nutrition Association, said the group is unaware of any state with a law mandating a minimum amount of time for lunch. In the Boston area, Braintree elementary schools have 20-minute lunches. Lunch at Dover-Sherborn Regional High School lasts 23 minutes, while Brockton runs 30-minute lunches in all grades. Many elementary schools use the entire period for both lunch and recess.

Angel Weaks, an eighth-grader at the Solomon Lewenberg Middle School in Mattapan, said she gets about 20 minutes for lunch. She said she never finishes her meal.

''Sometimes the teacher brings you down late, and you only get five minutes," she said.

Students at the New Boston Pilot Middle School in Dorchester get 25 minutes for lunch, principal Debra Socia said. It seems to be sufficient, because many pupils finish before time is up, she said.

Anand Vaishnav can be reached at vaishnav@globe.com.