For adults, a 25-minute lunch break might be a little hard to swallow.

But that’s how it works in Lawrence’s public schools, and it’s fine by most students and principals.

“I think it would be nice if we could have more relaxed meal times, but we’ve got to fit that in with everything else, with instructional time and physical activity,” said Rich Minder, a Lawrence school board member.

“I think if there was more time, I’m not sure that time would be spent eating,” Minder said. “How many of us actually spend time and eat for 25 full minutes?”

Despite a national trend that has reduced lunch by about five minutes in the last two years, there is no effort to reduce it here.

The Boston Globe recently reported the average lunch time in elementary schools nationally had dropped from 29.7 minutes in 2003 to 23.7 minutes in 2005. The School Nutrition Association in Alexandria, Va., recommends 26 minutes to eat and four minutes to get to the cafeteria.

However, a time study done by the National Food Service Management Institute showed that the time needed to actually eat at the table was about 10 minutes, on average, for all ages of students.

The NFSMI recommends that additional minutes are needed for socializing at the table, for traveling to and from the cafeteria, choosing food from the serving line and returning trays for clean up.

A sample of Lawrence’s schools show lunch times ranged from about 20 minutes to 25 minutes, with some time added for recess afterward or walking to and from class.

Hillcrest second-grader Zilong Wang, left, chows down on a slice of pizza as his classmates, from left, Zeliha Eryilmaz, Alana Branch, Woo-Chan Lee and Renee Bobo eat lunch Tuesday in the school cafeteria. Hillcrest School, like many school in the Lawrence district, gives students 25 minutes to eat. Most teachers and students say that is plenty of time to eat and do a little socializing.

Lesa Frantz, principal at Pinckney School, said her students get 20 minutes to eat, then go to recess. Theoretically, they could stay 35 minutes in the cafeteria if they wanted to eat their lunch more slowly and not go to recess, Frantz said.

“We really work with our students, so they know the first task is to eat,” said Tammy Becker, Hillcrest School principal, whose students get 25 minutes. “I think you would find our lunch room runs pretty smoothly.”

Across town at Southwest Junior High School, where a new cafeteria opened this week, students get 26 minutes for lunch, plus three minutes to get to the cafeteria, said Trish Bransky, principal. The lunch time has been the same since the school opened in 1995, she said.

Several Southwest students were mixed about how hurried they are.

“Everybody wishes they had more time,” said Ali Zaidi, a freshman.

“It’s plenty of time to eat, but for socializing, you could always use more time for that,” said Clare Frantz, another freshman.

“The main focus for people is not having enough time for socializing,” Molly Fister, a freshman, said.

Myron Melton, principal at West Junior High, said the 25 minutes his students get usually gives them five to 10 minutes to visit with their friends before returning to class.

A check at Lawrence High School and at Free State High School showed students get slightly longer times – 30 minutes – which allows them to go off campus to eat.

Matt Brungardt, associate principal at LHS, said the 30-minute lunch time has been in place for many years.

“It seems like when we get them through the cafeteria, they have plenty of time,” Brungardt said.

Joe Snyder, Free State’s principal, said some students don’t always make it back in time if they leave campus – and are counted tardy.

“I’m sure there’s some that will complain that lunch should be longer,” Snyder said.