Louisville, KY - Working Americans are putting the squeeze on the lunch hour in order to stretch every spare minute of free time for family and personal activities. More than half (55%) of working Americans surveyed eat lunch on-the-go, a 13% increase compared to last year, according to the second annual "Lunch Crunch" study sponsored by KFC® .

According to New York food-trend expert Dianne Keeler Bruce, consumers now have more options for eating lunch on the go, and today shorter lunches don’t necessarily mean unhealthy lunches, as in the past.

"Restaurant menus now accommodate on-the-go lunch habits," said Bruce. "Convenience foods, like sandwiches, are extremely popular offering consumers variety, quality, and if selected carefully, healthy options at lunch."

In response to the "lunch crunch" craze, KFC recently launched five freshly made chicken sandwiches.

"We’ve expanded our menu to give busy consumers more options during lunch," said Denny Post, KFC vice president – concept innovation marketing. "With the new sandwich line, Americans now can enjoy KFC both in a bucket and on a bun."

Farewell to the Lunch "Hour"

The study revealed Americans can’t find time for the lunch hour. Only three percent of those surveyed take the traditional hour-long lunch break. Instead, Americans are moving toward the "traveling lunch," with more than half (53%) of respondents eating lunch in airplanes, taxis or while walking.

Many working Americans don’t even leave their desk for lunch. Half (50 %) of full-time employees surveyed eat lunch at their desks at least once during the week.

What’s the Rush?

Why are Americans taking shorter lunches? Of those surveyed, more women (63 %) than men (37%) use lunchtime to run personal errands. More men (63%) than women (37%) opt to take a shorter lunch in exchange for more leisure time. Americans between the ages of 25 to 34 (14.5%) frequently work through their lunch as a way to get ahead.

Chicken Sandwiches Make the Menu!

Sandwiches are the top choice at lunch, beating out salads, pizza, soup and pasta. Of those surveyed, seven out of ten people (70%) prefer to eat sandwiches than any other lunchtime food. When asked about sandwich preference, more than one-third (38 percent) of those surveyed prefer chicken sandwiches over any other type of sandwich, including deli sandwiches and hamburgers.

The chicken experts at KFC took the sandwich industry by storm in September 1999 by introducing five freshly made chicken sandwiches. All served on freshly baked Pepperidge Farm® buns, the sandwiches include: Tender Roast® , Original Recipe®, Triple Crunch®, Triple Crunch® Zinger™ and Honey BBQ.

"The Lunch Crunch Survey," sponsored by KFC, was conducted August 1999, by Market Facts, a marketing research company based in Arlington Heights, Ill. A total of 1,000 men and women were surveyed randomly and unaided, yielding a margin of error of +/- 3.1.

KFC Corporation, based in Louisville, Ky., is the world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in Original Recipe®, Extra Crispy™ and Colonel’s Crispy Strips™ chicken with homestyle sides and five new freshly made sandwiches. Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been serving customers delicious, already-prepared complete family meals at affordable prices. There are more than 10,300 KFC outlets in 83 countries around the world serving nearly 8 million customers each day. KFC is a subsidiary of Tricon, Louisville, Ky. (NYSE:YUM)