How to Prevent School Food Fights

Seat students in small groups, and provide seating for all students.

School food fights are, arguably, an essential part of growing up. Elementary school students can begin hurling food at one another at the slightest provocation or just have a little fun. Middle school cafeterias are a hot spot for food fights because some of these students have a lower maturity level. By the time students reach high school, maturity levels improve, and food fights seldom occur. Prevent school food fights with age-appropriate rules and consequences as well as a system of food service that prevents chaos and disorderliness.

Instructions

1. Organize your bell schedule and lunch period staffing so the cafeteria is never over capacity. Many food fights start when the lunch room is overcrowded, allowing students to stealthily throw food without getting caught. If you have a large student population, it might help to arrange the bell schedule so there are several short lunch periods to accommodate smaller groups. Staff the lunch room appropriately so there is enough staff to cover supervision during each lunch period.

2. Assign students to sit at specific tables and to remain seated during the entire lunch period. It's difficult to instruct masses of students to remain seated for a long period of time. However, if students have an assigned table they must sit at unless excused, there will be no room for students to get up and interact negatively with other students. When all students remain seated, it's also easier to spot someone throwing food and to remove that person before a larger fight begins.

3. Instruct food service and lunch staff to keep the line moving, and closely monitor all students. Students should not have idle time during the lunch period. Although lunch time allows students to unwind, it can become a time to cause trouble if administrators and supervisors aren't vigilant. Supervisors should rotate shifts, monitoring the food service line, seated students, students leaving the lunch room and garbage disposal. There is little room for an individual to begin fighting with food he receives, eats and disposes of quickly.

4. Display rules and consequences around the cafeteria. Post rules above tables, on walls, above trash cans and near the end of the line. Students need constant reminders of what is expected so they behave appropriately. Many successful rules begin with "I will remember to..." rather than "Do not..." Students respond better to positive reinforcement than negative consequences. Sometimes, a poster doesn't even need to have words. For example, you might display a person throwing her trash into the garbage can rather than tossing it on to the floor.

References

• Carr Elementay School: Cafeteria Rules
• The Journal -- Queen' University: Food Fight Breaks Out in Leonard Cafeteria