Michelle Jiang ‘24 | Sophia Hu ‘24 | Anjali Ramakrishnan ‘24
Drastic changes made to lunch scheduling due to COVID-19 safety protocols affect everyone in the EA community. Whether it is having lunch during a free block, or waiting in longer, socially-distanced lines, each change has required both students and faculty to adapt.
Photo courtesy of Ashley Kennedy
One of the most apparent changes is the new timeframe set for all the lunches. The 12:20 Lunch Block is 25 minutes long with all earlier and later lunches being only 15 minutes long. Many students express frustrations with the scheduling. Elizabeth Boruff ‘23 comments, “The lunches have felt rushed. Since we need to wait in long lines, and that normally takes ten minutes or more, we end up with only 15 minutes to eat [during the 12:20 Lunch Block].” Michael Letts, Head of Upper School, explains the difficulty of extending the duration of the lunches, as there are “540 students, seventy-five faculty members, and only two lunch lines. The school is running eight lunches a day to maintain the social distancing protocols, so it is difficult to make the lunches any longer.”
Students also reflect on when lunches actually occur. Khoa Tran ‘24 shares that students prefer the lunch block at 12:20 because “most of their friends are there.” Grace Bomberger ‘22 also agrees with this preference and explains the negative effects of early and late lunches: “Early lunches make [students] hungry later in the day, but late lunches make [students] tired in the morning.”
Boruff and Bomberger feel that their academic and athletic performances have been affected by the different lunch times. Boruff notes, “I am often super hungry during sports even if I have late lunch. I really wish that EA could provide snacks earlier in the day, or would allow [students] to eat their own snacks outside or something during domino.” In past years, EA has offered free snacks to students after the Chapel/Activity block, but they are not able to provide this anymore because of COVID-19 safety protocol.
The lunch schedule can also be confusing, as it is often different most days for most students. Boruff explains, “It took extra time to check to see who was in [my] lunches, and find out if [my] friends were also there.” Stills, community members continue to adjust to their schedules, as they have with most aspects of school that are different this year. Tran emphasizes, “Each day the transition becomes easier and easier, and I am more familiarized with the lunch times. If I am ever confused or anything, I simply check my schedule.”
Letts shares that based on “CHOP labs, CDC, and current data, [EA] would adjust the lunch situation if the virus gets better or worse.” Other teachers share their thoughts on the future of the lunch schedule. Ashley Lewis, Upper and Middle School Classics teacher, thinks: “The lunches will likely stay pretty much the same, since the situation currently is only getting worse.” On the other hand, Stephen Morris, Upper and Middle School math teacher, says, “If a vaccine comes out, maybe the lunches would change and could have more people in one place at a time.”
The EA administration is constantly trying to find ways to maximize the lunch experience. They considered utilizing a third area for students to eat lunch, but Letts concluded that there was “no other space large enough to hold another lunch, and the Lower School needs the Great Room. The outside is also not a good option because of weather, and there would have to be three different kitchens.” Staffing and the transportation of food would also be a problem with a third lunch area. Letts reveals, “The food from the competition gym is brought up all the way from the dining hall, which is why it is much less convenient.”
Despite feelings of discontent with the changes to the lunch schedule, the EA community realizes that certain precautions need to be taken to limit the spread of the virus. Anika Kakarka ‘23 says, “Even though some days I am unhappy about my lunch schedule, I understand that it is what it is. If some inconvenient lunches means we can have school in-person, I am totally fine with it.”