Rep. Brodie Deshaies: Bill would allow students full 20 minutes to eat lunch

To The Daily Sun,

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Christmas time is an excellent opportunity to reflect and enjoy our friends, family, and community. It is also a perfect time to give back to the less fortunate. Thank you to everyone who worked with local nonprofits to make this holiday season easier for so many. Your work makes our community stronger.

Every week, I have written to explain legislation I have sponsored or cosponsored. HB 1058 and HB 1561 are two bipartisan bills I wrote to improve children’s health and nutrition in our public school.

HB 1058 will require all schools to allow students 20 minutes to sit and eat. Currently, the average student in New Hampshire has only 10 to 12 minutes to eat their lunch. Less eating time forces students to rush through their meals or not finish eating. This makes students more anxious, disruptive, and less attentive. Students also create more food waste when they have limited time to eat. Plus, students in school districts with 20-minute eating duration requirements perform better in school and on standardized tests.

We allow adults at least 20 minutes to eat, so why wouldn’t we do the same for students?

HB 1561 will seek to improve the food children eat in our public schools. This legislation would have NH adopt the exact nutritional requirements previously established by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. This will ensure we are meeting the basic dietary needs of students. Again, when students are fed better food, they perform better in the classroom and on standardized tests.

Thank you for reading, and please call or email if you have any questions or concerns: 603-387-4210, BrodieforNH@gmail.com.

Rep. Brodie Deshaies

Wolfeboro