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Robbinsville parents press board to restore longer school lunches
Summary
More than 300 parents told the Robbinsville Board of Education that a districtwide reduction of lunch time to about 20 minutes is harming students’ nutrition, social time and well‑being; parents asked the board to restore at least 30 minutes of seated lunch and the superintendent agreed to convene stakeholders.
Dozens of parents and residents urged the Robbinsville Board of Education on Monday to restore longer lunch periods for elementary, middle and high school students, saying the current schedule leaves many children with only 10 to 15 minutes of actual seated eating time.
Hundreds of parents circulated a petition and survey that, they said, gathered more than 300 responses alleging that students are unable to finish meals, are rushing to eat, return to class hungry or with stomachaches, and lack meaningful time to socialize. “For two years our children have endured the consequences of insufficient lunchtime,” resident Mahesh Chowder told the board, urging a return to a minimum 30‑minute seated period.
Parents described recurring problems across grades: kindergarteners who are still learning to open containers and need time to chew, middle schoolers who swallow food quickly and then report…
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