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MURRAY — When posed with the question, "lunch or recess?" most kids will pick recess and often rush through their lunch to get to the playground. That's why some elementary schools along the Wasatch Front are turning the lunch tradition on its head. It's called reverse lunch.
Longview Elementary Principal Chad Sanders and the school's community council made the schedule switch last year. "We noticed at lunch time we had 40 minute blocks for lunch and we noticed kids came in and spent 3-to-5 minutes with their lunch, threw everything else away and then darted outside for 30-40 minutes," said Sanders. He said that schedule caused two problems, kids not eating their lunch and too much time outside cause too many behavior referrals to the front office. "After so long outside and running out of productive things to do they would find unproductive things to do," said Sanders.
But now that the students go to recess first, Sanders said their office referrals during lunch time has dropped off the map. The teachers have also noticed a difference. "When they enter the classroom they are calm. They are ready to learn. They are full. They have actually eaten lunch so they're not hungry," said fourth-grade teacher Jill Horne.
Lunch waste has also decreased. Milk and juice consumption has gone up. A 2015 Brigham Young University and Cornell study also supports this idea. Researchers found kids ate 54 percent more vegetables and wasted far less fruit and vegetables at the schools with the switched schedules.
The Longview students have bought in to the change. "I like how we have recess before lunch. They (friends) actually sit and they finish their lunch and wait until we get called to leave," said 11-year-old Justin Jimenez. Kate Macfarlaine, 9 years old, said, "At recess I get really hungry and I like to go in and get to eat lunch after I get so hungry at recess." But 10-year-old Ethan Davies likes it the old way. He said he gets too hungry. "When we had lunch before I wasn't like way too hungry, like I could eat it and come out and be full for the rest of the day," said Davies.
Longview is the only school in the Murray School District that's made this schedule switch. At Alpine School district 16 of the 46 schools contacted put recess before lunch. At Jordan School District, only one school of 34. However, some schools have tried it but have switched back to the traditional schedule. Granite School District reported one-third of its schools have made the change, but mostly to help with behavioral issues. The BYU study according to a spokesperson, said provided an additional incentive to make the switch.
