Students know the struggle: desperate glances between the ticking clock and their PB&J sandwich, a moment’s hesitation before the bell rings, and then the final surrender to an empty stomach in exchange for a chance to complete last night’s Algebra homework.

There are many scenarios where students find themselves missing opportunities to eat, mainly because of time management.

“ I do school work usually every lunch period. If it comes down to it, I’ll pick A’s over a slice of pizza at lunch,” sophomore Cely Perez said.

For students like Perez, eating during the school day can be a hassle, as it can interfere with work.

Sophomore Juan Chumpitaz views eating as a luxury, or “something to look forward to in my free time, which is never.”

The pattern of constantly replacing food for homework leads to a general lack of eating, and there are consequences for hunger.

“I get really hangry when I don’t eat,” senior Alexis O’Brien said,  “Everything starts to annoy me.”

Despite the fact that students tend to choose completing school work opposed to eating, there still is a negative reaction to feeling hungry.

According to the American Psychological Association, hunger-related toxic stress can negatively affect brain development, learning, information processing, and academic achievement in children.

To avoid these consequences, students who lack the time to eat during lunch find ways to make it happen. For students who can’t drop their assignments to eat, multitasking or sneaking snacks throughout the day are the only solutions.

       “It doesn’t matter if it’s allowed or not, when I’m hungry I eat.” sophomore Gavin Kerr said.