Lunchtime decision gives Hood School parents indigestion

LYNN – A group of parents whose children attend Hood Elementary School has started a petition questioning the principal?s decision to eliminate morning snack period for younger children, while raising concerns about what they say is the 15-minute lunch period.Kristin Powers, the mother of a third-grader, said forcing kids to eat their lunch so quickly sends the wrong message about eating healthy.?Clearly, I don?t think adults are expected to eat in 15 minutes,” she said Thursday. “And with all the information we hear about childhood obesity, to ask kids who have been stagnant all day to consume their entire meal in 15 minutes seems to be against what we know about nutrition.”The petition doesn?t ask for any specific policy change, Powers said, but it does say parents are concerned about nutrition at the school and the “health and wellness” of students there.Hood students are given 15 minutes to eat and then told to start cleaning up to go out to recess, Powers said.?The principal said the kids can ask for more time, but that?s asking a lot for a kid,” Powers said.She started the petition drive this week after first trying to work behind the scenes to find a solution.A teacher at the school told her they were trying to work on a list of appropriate snacks that children could bring to school, but she never heard back.?I think they?re dragging their feet on something that?s really important,” she said.Ashley Felix, who also has a son in third grade, said she too is angry about the principal?s decisions.?I don?t think any child can eat anywhere in 15 minutes, maybe 20 to 25 and then five to 10 minutes to run around,” Felix said.She tried to talk to principal Gayle Dufour about the change in policy _ students in K-2 were allowed to have morning snacks last year _ while she was picking up her son, but the principal wanted her to “go inside the building and talk.”?But this has to do with everybody?s child, so I wanted to address the situation outside and she said ?let her know when I?m ready to talk? and walked away,” Felix said.Felix went to the school district office and talked to officials there but, as of Thursday, hadn?t heard back.?It almost seems they?re not taking it as serious as some of us,” Felix said. “If they?re concentrating so much on academics, the children need to be nourished and their brains need to be nourished.”But Dufour is sticking by her decision to eliminate the morning snack for children in grades K-2 _ there were no snacks for students in grades 3-5 last year _ she said Thursday.She made the decision after consulting with teachers _ she acknowledged she did not ask for parent input _ and based on research that showed the optimum time between meals is two to four hours.Because so many children eat the free universal breakfast at the school from 8:15 to 8:30, Dufour says it?s not necessary to give them a morning snack when the earliest lunch period starts at 11:15.That means when it?s time for lunch, “they?re hungry,” Dufour said.?The lunchroom is a nicer place to be because the children are eating instead of fooling around,” she said.Dufour stressed that the actual lunch period time is 30 minutes although most kids go out to recess after just 15 minutes. Students can ask for more time to eat, but few do, she acknowledged.?After 15 minutes the majority of the kids are done eating,” Dufour said.Snack time in the morning also became problematic at times because some kids brought snacks while others didn?t, which Dufour said sometimes created “a bullying situation.”?They might be asking someone to share their snack and maybe that child doesn?t want to share with them, but does want to share with someone else,” she said.Eighty-two percent of the school?s 420 students get free or reduced breakfast and lunch, Dufour said.She also questioned the quality of the snacks that were being brought in, which she believes led to students filling up with junk and then not eating their lunch.?Most of the snacks that come to sc