Maggie Lo ’23 | Caroline Sewell ’23
Half-way up the stairs to your third floor class, the bell rings, signaling 11:21 and the start of third period. You wanted to be on time, but waiting in line for lunch took almost all of the 25 minutes of Flex that students are allotted between the end of second period and beginning of third.
Compounded with not enough time to eat, long lunch lines are a problem that everyone in the EA community faces on a daily basis. Head of Upper School Michael Letts explains, “It’s a difficult problem. I’m as concerned as everyone for the kids who have to scarf down food really really quickly and never really get the chance to take a breath because they spend the entire lunch period in a line.”
Letts also worries about the cafeteria staff who work hard to serve the community lunch. He says, “I’m extraordinarily concerned and empathetic for the staff because when I go in there some days, it looks like there’s 150 kids all waiting and they never get a second to breathe either, but it’s really complicated.”
In order to minimize their time wasted in a line, some students like Gaeli Keffer-Scharpf ’23 have become creative. Keffer-Scharpf comments, “I go to the salad bar during flex because I do not want to wait in the lines.” Then, during the 2nd lunch, she waits for the lines to die down. “I go to lunch half-an-hour late so that I don’t have to wait in the line. I sit in the lounge for the first half of the lunch period. I then go get my lunch,” she says. Although this strategy may work for her, the time that Keffer-Scharpf has to eat lunch is now cut in half to about 15 minutes.
Other students choose to directly address the long wait by line-cutting, which is becoming more and more frequent. Douglas Baldino ’23 supports line-cutting, believing that “when it relates to people cutting the line to get food first, survival of the fittest.”
Thanks to line-cutting, Grace Rall ‘25 once spent an entire flex period waiting in line for lunch. She says, “I missed flex lunch because I was waiting in line and people kept cutting, and while the cafeteria staff kept trying to get us to go in a straight line, it didn’t work.” To her, line-cutting is perpetuated by the fact that “people are scared to say anything to other people. If someone cuts in front of them, they are not going to say ‘Oh, get back,’ so then it becomes fine.”
Letts opposes line-cutting, espousing that line-cutting “is extraordinarily unfortunate. I expect more from the students, and we talk a lot about respect, we talk a lot about honesty, and it funnels onto a lot of things.”
Photo Courtesy of Gianna Trala ’23
In the future, Letts looks to combat line-cutting through action. “I am not adverse to asking our faculty members to volunteer for a lunch duty each week to specifically look at that and address those students who are doing it,” he warns.
Some students even decide to skip lunch because they believe that waiting in the lines is a waste of time. With meetings during Flex and lunch and overwhelming school work, more and more students are missing lunches. As a school, we need to ensure that everyone eats, so we can have energy to work hard throughout the day. Students especially need to eat lunch to ensure healthy growth and development throughout their adolescence.
The Scholium staff wants EA to improve lunch scheduling so students do not have to scarf down their food, wait in extremely long lines, cut the lines, skip lunch, or arrive late to class. We believe that lunch should be a time for the community to step away from a busy and stressful academic cycle, where people can relax and talk with peers. However, we also understand that timing, spacing, and staff availability are all factors that must be considered when making changes.
As of now, Upper School Flex is at 10:56, Middle School Lunch is at 11:47, and Upper School Second Lunch is at 12:20. The cafeteria staff also feeds Lower School students back-to-back lunches from 11 to 12:40. According to Katie Vigna, SAGE General Manager, the time that it takes to prepare for each lunch round “is based upon menu selections and consumption, so it varies everyday, which is why having set times for lunch periods is important.”
One potential solution we considered would be to move Flex to the end of 3rd period (from 11:55-12:16). All classes would begin at 10:56 (which is when Flex starts now), but those students not taking an AP or science course would be dismissed at 11:55 instead of 12:16.
While this plan would give students a longer period to eat (condensing the two lunch periods into one), it is difficult logistically. Vigna comments, “Having two lunches is definitely better than having one. Serving 500 plus students in one shot could make the lines even longer.” It would also be difficult to have the entire Upper School in the cafeteria at once.
Another idea would be to simply increase the time that students have for Flex and second lunch. However, this would cut into class time, which is not ideal. Finally, allowing Upper School students with free periods to attend lunch during those blocks may also decrease the lunch lines; however, this may interfere with Middle School lunch, which must also be considered.
Until a more concrete plan can be established, we look to students to help alleviate impacts of the problem. First and foremost, students should not cut the line. If everyone waits their turn, waiting in the lunch line may become a slightly more enjoyable experience. Students can also try to attend one lunch, although we understand that many students prefer to eat two lunches because of the timing of Flex and second lunch. Bringing snacks to school may also improve the issue.
Finally, students can also find the daily lunch menu online or on the SAGE app and decide what they want prior to entering the cafeteria. Vigna says, “The one thing I can’t stress enough is knowing what you want for lunch before you come in. The one thing we see is students walking around trying to figure out what they want for lunch. Knowing ahead before you come in will allow you to navigate through our lines more quickly.”
Ultimately, we hope the EA administration can look into lunch scheduling, consider our ideas and the lunch schedules of other schools, and make changes that would improve the dining experience of everyone in the community.