Short lunches common on Oklahoma elementary schools

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A typical Oklahoma soldier in basic training gets more time to eat in a mess hall than many students in a public school lunchroom. <br/><br/>Soldiers at Fort Sill receive an average

Saturday, April 9th 2005, 12:16 pm

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A typical Oklahoma soldier in basic training gets more time to eat in a mess hall than many students in a public school lunchroom.

Soldiers at Fort Sill receive an average of 30 minutes to eat a meal. But many Oklahoma schools reserve a 20-minute block for elementary students to dine before they head outside for recess.

Oklahoma City nutritionist Carol Banister says 20 minutes for students to eat is adequate, if that is the amount of time they're sitting at the table with food in front of them. But in many situations, the 20-minute lunch periods include time standing in line.

That's the case at Sequoyah Elementary in Oklahoma City, Mustang Elementary and at Jenks elementary schools. Students at these schools may request more time, if needed, but many school cafeteria workers have to rotate other classes through the lunchroom.