At Quincy University, being a student-athlete means constantly balancing school and sports but for some Hawks, one of the hardest parts of the day is simply finding time to eat lunch.

Lunch is only realistic one day a week for freshman soccer player Mathilda Rumpf.

“Well, it affects me quite a lot. The only day I can really eat during lunch is on Monday because I don’t have a lab,” Rumpf said.

The rest of the week, her schedule makes it almost impossible to get to The Cafe during the 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. lunch window. Instead, she often doesn’t eat until much later in the afternoon sometimes right before practice.

“It’s quite hard because of practice and stuff,” Rumpf said. “You eat very late at like 2 or 3 p.m., and the only thing that’s open is the sandwich deli. You don’t really have a selection of food you can eat. So you basically have one option, and it’s quite late. Then you have practice, and you don’t have time to eat enough. So you’re not completely full at practice.”

For athletes who rely on proper nutrition to perform at a high level, that delay can make a noticeable difference in energy and focus.

Also, according to Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics if you eat right before practice, your body has to split blood flow between the digestive tract and working muscles, resulting in sluggishness, cramps, nausea, or indigestion.

Teammate Helma Cruz says she runs into a similar issue almost every day.

“Yeah, it’s a little hard to grab food at The Cafe because I have, like, 15 minutes between my classes,” Cruz said. “And my second class is at North Campus, so I have maybe five or 10 minutes max to grab some food and head right over. So it’s just kind of a short time.”

With such a tight schedule, Cruz sometimes has to depend on her friends just to get something small before practice.

“Sometimes I have to ask one of my friends to grab me a snack from The Cafe like a banana or something just so I have something before practice between my classes,” Cruz said.

Both players say the 15-minute passing period simply isn’t enough time to walk across campus, wait in line, eat, and make it to class on time. As a result, lunch often becomes the most difficult meal of the day.

For Rumpf and Cruz, it’s not about convenience it’s about having enough fuel to get through practice, class, and everything in between.

One possible solution could be creating more flexibility around lunchtime for student-athletes at Quincy University. Expanding the passing period between late-morning and early-afternoon classes even by 10 to 15 extra minutes would give students enough time to walk to the café, grab a meal, and return to class without feeling rushed.

Another option could be offering more grab-and-go stations or extended lunch hours that run later into the afternoon, so athletes who can’t make the 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. window still have access to proper meals.

Small adjustments like these would help student-athletes stay fueled for practice while also staying focused in the classroom, making it easier to succeed both academically and athletically.