Students consuming sack lunches devote more time to eating than those consuming school lunches

Concern has been raised about the amount of time provided for students to consume school lunch. This study analyzed the amount of time used by elementary students to consume school lunch vs sack lunch. Data collectors used stop watches to collect wait time, opportunity time to eat and consumption time for elementary students consuming school lunch, sack lunch, and sack lunch with a separate milk purchase. Students consuming school lunch had a significantly longer wait time than those consuming sack lunch or sack lunch with milk (P<.0001). In contrast, students consuming sack lunch and sack lunch with milk had significantly longer opportunity times to eat (P<.0001) and consumption times (P<.001). There was also a significant decrease in opportunity time to eat and consumption time as grade level increased, particularly in boys (P<.05). Older boys appeared more anxious to finish eating so they could go out to recess.