Safe Mealtime Procedures in Schools
Takeaways
Key learnings on how to operationalize lunch procedures from schools that have reopened their buildings:
Determine which model is most appropriate for your school based on the number of students in the building each day, staffing availability, and available space.
If lunch happens in person, develop and communicate logistics for how students should order their food, pick up/receive their food, and how to clean up.
Lunch is an opportunity for students to relax. Determine which activities students are able to safely engage in.
Overview
It is critical for schools to implement intentional safety protocols during in-person mealtimes because:
Students have to take off their masks in order to eat, which takes away an important protective measure.
Lunchtime is traditionally less structured, allowing for more socialization and less teacher guidance.
This Spotlight, building off of this Step-by-Step Options for Serving Meals resource, shares how different schools have addressed these challenges and safely served meals to students in person. Click on the links within the steps below to explore topics further. While this spotlight focuses specifically on lunch, the lessons in this resource can be applied to breakfast or snack times.
Step 1: Choose a Location
Identify places for outdoor eating, such as picnic benches or fields; eating outdoors is the best option due to the natural ventilation. When the weather allows, schools should prioritize using these spaces for lunch. School leaders need to also decide on a model for meals when eating outside is not feasible. Three options are available for most schools:
In order to choose the best option for your school and students, consider:
How many students are you serving?
Who is available to supervise and support students who are eating?
Will the students be sticking around or leaving school after the meal?
The tables below summarize some considerations with each of the possible choices. Click on any model for additional examples and guidance from schools that have reopened.
Physically Distanced Cafeteria
Students eat in the school cafeteria as usual but maintain distance
| Highlights | Challenges | Key Considerations |
| Using the cafeteria means classrooms can be used only for instruction. This model is particularly useful in places where space is limited. | While students are distanced, there is a high number of students in one location, alongside the potential for intermingling of cohorts. (Note: We recommend that in order to minimize risk, school leaders should aim to limit the number of people in a space to 25, even if a larger space allows for people to be more than six feet apart. The people physically present in these spaces should all come from the same cohort. Learn more in the School Opening Readiness Guide.) | A limited number of students in the cafeteria may require additional space and/or additional blocks for lunch. |
Lunch in Classrooms
Students eat in their classrooms and maintain distance
| Highlights | Challenges | Key Considerations |
| Eating in classrooms can maintain the separation of cohorts to maximize safety. | Staffing constraints may necessitate that teachers supervise classrooms for lunch. | Eating in classrooms requires a plan to distribute food from the cafeteria to the classrooms; this plan should cover which staff members are responsible for safely transporting meals. |
Grab-and-Go Lunch
Students grab their lunch as they transition from school to home
| Highlights | Challenges | Key Considerations |
| Eating lunch at home means schools do not need to worry about students adhering to safety measures inside their building. Grab-and-go stations can be integrated into dismissal procedures. | Already limited in-person learning time is further limited by creating a schedule where students attend remote classes in the afternoon. | Build in enough time for students to travel home, eat lunch, and get set up for remote classes. |
Step 2: Incorporate Options for Students Who Finish Eating
Clear norms must be set for students so they understand and choose the right behaviors, allowing them to stay safe while taking a break.
Students can relax and socialize during lunch while maintaining a safe, physical distance. Schools have also used lunch time for social-emotional learning, group activities, and independent time.
Explore these additional ideas for students who finish eating.
Step 3: Provide Meal Pick-Up for Remote Students
Not all students will be back to school in person. Develop a meal pick-up plan for remote students and consider options for getting meals to families that have challenges getting to meal pick-ups.
Learn more about providing pick-up for students who are learning remotely.
Deeper Exploration
Learn more about the different models of meal service and the activities students can safely engage in during mealtime.
1. Physically Distanced Cafeteria
Milford High School and Norwood’s Dr. Philip O. Coakley Middle School, both in Massachusetts, continue to use their cafeteria for lunch and make sure students maintain their distance. Note that air quality considerations for classrooms apply where students and staff eat, as well.
Facilitate distancing by having students stay in their seats. Once a student picks up their lunch, they should remain in their seat and only get up if they get permission to use the restroom or to dispose of their trash. Coakley Middle School increased the amount of space between students from six feet to eight-to-ten feet when they realized trying to stop students from turning towards each other while chatting was extremely difficult.
Consider utilizing additional space. When factoring in distancing requirements, the capacity of a cafeteria and other spaces for lunch may be greatly reduced, Milford turned a lobby area outside of their cafeteria into a cafeteria annex to add an additional 50 seats.
Add additional lunch blocks. Reduced capacity in the cafeteria may necessitate additional lunch blocks compared to previous years.
Eat outside when possible. Eating outside allows for the best ventilation possible. School leaders should identify safe areas students can eat outdoors. Below, students at Coakley Middle School eat outdoors in grassy areas when the weather permits.
Leverage technology to streamline orders. To minimize the time students are not in their seats during lunch, consider using an online order form so students can place their lunch orders ahead of time. At Milford High School, students are able to submit sandwich orders that the lunch staff creates and labels with students’ names, allowing students to pick up their meals and return to their seats quickly.
2. Lunch in Classrooms
Students at Concourse Village Elementary School in the Bronx and Leroy L. Wood Elementary School in Massachusetts eat lunch inside of their classrooms. Having students eat lunch in their own classrooms keeps students in their cohorts, thereby minimizing interactions with people outside of their designated cohort. Students remove their masks in order to eat but still maintain a physical distance at all times.
Create a system to take lunch orders. To accurately provide lunch for students, in the morning, teachers at Wood share the lunch options of the day, and then students raise their hands to order lunch. At Concourse Village, staff who distribute meals share what lunch is for the day and students indicate if they would like one.
Designate staff to support with lunch distribution. Additional staff beyond a school’s food services department may be needed to help with lunch distribution. At Concourse Village, food services staff members bring lunch to each floor of the school. Paraprofessionals on duty move around to help distribute the lunch. Also, it must be determined whether teachers are tasked with monitoring the class during lunch or are relieved by another staff member to allow them to have their own meal break.
Make sure students stay in one location for lunch. At Wood, students have a designated desk in their self-contained classroom where they also eat their lunch. At Concourse Village, students have preferential seating for lunch. Students pick their seats at a safe distance from other students and remain in their seats for the rest of lunch.
Have clear procedures for discarding trash. School lunches at Concourse Village come in plastic bags, and once a student is done eating, they put their own trash in the bag. When dismissed, students put on their masks and go to the hallway to throw out the trash. Students then retrieve a disinfecting wipe and wipe down their desk area.
3. Grab-and-Go Lunch
Uxbridge High School in Massachusetts has adopted a hybrid model in which a cohort of students attends school in person in the morning and all students take remote classes in the afternoon. When students break for lunch, the students from the in-person cohort travel home. Factors like the district’s bus schedule may cause a school to adopt such a schedule. By having students eat at home, the school does not have to worry about making sure students are adhering to safety measures – but this does reduce the amount of time students receive in-person instruction.
Create grab-and-go stations. Uxbridge set up stations where students can pick up their lunch as they leave school. Students maintain physical distance while waiting to pick up their meal, but staggering dismissal prevents large groups from forming. The school’s hybrid schedule also means that there is never more than 50 percent of the student population in the building at any time. Staff members who monitor these stations wear masks and gloves.
Package lunch so it is easily transportable. After picking up their meals, students will be getting into buses and cars or walking home, so all food needs to be packaged safely. Districts should budget funding for packaging if they adopt this model.
4. Provide Activities Students Can Do When They Finish Eating
Lunch is normally a time for students to relax and socialize, but given safety measures, expectations for what students can do and how to do this safely should be set. Here are activities students can engage in during this time:
Social-emotional learning: Staff at Concourse Village embed social-emotional learning into all aspects of the school day to build connection and a sense of team. Once a week, each grade level engages in SEL activities during lunch with an educator. For example, an elementary educator can conduct a story read-aloud and facilitate a discussion with students about being different and embracing those who are different from them.
Group activities: Concourse Village staff utilized Power Brain Education activities that engage students’ bodies and minds, such as meditation and team-building activities. Madeline Ruiz, a fourth-grade science teacher, has students participate in hands-on STEAM activities like building a tower of cups or playing charades with science vocabulary words.
Individual activities: Provide students the opportunity for choice in their free-time activities, such reading or drawing. If a classroom has puzzles, Legos, or other toys, students can play independently. Some teachers have also allowed students to play on their Chromebooks, although some teachers decided to limit the amount of time students spent on devices due to concerns around screentime.
Have one-on-one check-ins with students: Teachers can use this time to conference with students, checking in on them or providing targeted academic support. “We have supported students with learning during this time. Students know they can reach out to us if they are struggling and need help,” Selena Almanzar, a fourth-grade teacher at Concourse Village, explained. Keep in mind that this is likely teachers’ time for lunch as well, so this is something that should be done on a voluntary basis.
Socialize: Students are allowed to socialize as long as they maintain a safe distance. “We do want to normalize lunch a bit,” Almanzar said.
Provide Meal Pick-Up for Remote Students
Students who are attending school remotely need the opportunity to pick up meals. Uxbridge Public Schools’ lunch program is open to anyone in the community under the age of 21, whether they attend school within their system or not, and runs a weekly pick-up schedule in which families can receive meals for the week for their children. For more details, explore this sample weekly menu and heating instructions.
Think about how to reach families that may have difficulty getting to the pick-up location at the right time. Consider having multiple opportunities to pick up meals during the week if staff members are on hand to help. This could accommodate parents who work various hours or may encounter transportation difficulties. Schools may consider doing meal drop-offs, as well. Uxbridge’s Food Service Director Kelley Haley provides drop-offs to some families who experience hardships.
See More from the Parabola Project and Beyond
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