H 7345Food & Beverage

Food and Drugs - Healthy Kids Act

Restaurants must offer nutritionally balanced children's meals and make water or unflavored milk the default beverage option.

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Introduced Jan 28, 2026Committee House Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

The "Healthy Kids Act" mandates that Rhode Island restaurants offering children's meals must provide healthier options. Specifically, at least two children's meals (or 25% of the kids' menu) must meet strict nutritional guidelines regarding calories, sodium, sugar, and fat, and include food groups like fruits, vegetables, or whole grains. Furthermore, the default beverage provided with a children's meal must be water, unflavored milk, or a non-dairy alternative. While restaurants must list these defaults on menus, customers are still permitted to request and purchase alternative beverages. The Department of Health will oversee enforcement and compliance.

For younger readers

This new law helps restaurants serve healthier food to kids. When you order a kids' meal, the restaurant must have choices that are good for you, like meals with fruits, vegetables, and not too much sugar or salt. Also, the drink that comes with the meal automatically will be water or plain milk instead of soda. You can still ask for a different drink if you want, but the main choice will be a healthy one to help kids grow up strong. Restaurants will have to change their menus to show these healthy choices.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

RestaurantsChildrenParentsRestaurant EmployeesDepartment of Health

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

Amount unknown

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Addresses significant health disparities cited in the legislation, specifically aiming to reduce higher obesity rates found among Latinx and Black children in Rhode Island.
Promotes long-term public health and community welfare by structurally encouraging healthier dietary habits early in life, potentially reducing the burden of chronic diseases.
Regulates the food service industry to prioritize child health standards over the unchecked marketing of high-sugar, high-calorie processed foods to minors.
Places the burden of enforcement and customer education on low-wage restaurant workers, who may face hostility when explaining default beverage restrictions to customers.
Does not ban unhealthy options entirely, allowing corporations to continue proficiently marketing sugary drinks and unhealthy foods to children, provided the parent requests them.
May impose disproportionate administrative and operational costs on small, independent restaurants compared to large corporate chains that can easily absorb compliance expenses.

For Conservatives

Preserves ultimate consumer choice and parental rights by explicitly allowing customers to substitute any beverage they choose, rather than implementing a government ban on specific products.
Provides a lengthy implementation period (until 2027), granting businesses significant time to adjust supply chains and menus without immediate disruption.
Avoids raising taxes to fund the initiative, relying instead on regulatory adjustments within the private sector to achieve the stated goals.
Represents government overreach into private business operations by dictating specific menu compositions, calorie counts, and default service standards.
Creates new administrative burdens and compliance costs for business owners, who must now track nutritional data and maintain records for government inspection.
Expands the regulatory power of the Department of Health, allowing the state to police the day-to-day transactions of private dining establishments.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 73 additions

SECTION 1. Legislative findings. The general assembly hereby finds and declares the following:

(1) Thirty-five percent (35%) of Rhode Island children are overweight or obese.

(2) In 2022, childhood obesity rates are on the rise from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 (35% vs 31%).

(3) Forty percent (40%) of children in Rhode Island’s core cities are overweight or obese compared to thirty-five percent (35%) of children in the remainder of the state.

(4) Forty-one percent (41%) of latinx and forty-one percent (41%) of black children in Rhode Island are overweight or obese compared to thirty-two percent (32%) of white children

(5) Food environments are associated with food choices and diet quality.

(6) Childhood obesity is associated with costly chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

SECTION 2. Title 21 of the General Laws entitled "FOOD AND DRUGS" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 21-38-1. Short title. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Healthy Kids Act." 21-38-2. Definitions. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(1) "Children's meal" means a combination of food and a beverage, offered for sale together at a single price, primarily intended for consumption by children.

(2) "Default beverage" means any beverage offered as part of a children's meal.

(3) "Restaurant" means any food service establishment that serves food to customers for consumption on or off the premises, as defined in § 21-27-1, including, but not limited to, drive- through or walk-up counters, coffee shops, cafes, pizza parlors, and dine-in establishments. "Restaurant" does not include school cafeterias. 21-38-3. Nutrition standards in children's meals.

(a) A restaurant shall not sell any children’s meal unless the restaurant offers at least two

(2) children's meals, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the children's meals on the children's menu, whichever is greater, containing no more than:

(1) Five hundred fifty (550) calories;

(2) Seven hundred milligrams (700 mg) sodium;

(3) Fifteen grams (15 g) added sugars;

(4) Ten percent (10%) of calories from saturated fat; and

(5) Zero grams trans-fat. (b)(1) A restaurant shall not sell a children's meal unless the restaurant offers at least two

(2) children's meals, or twenty-five percent (25%) of the children's meals on the children's menu, whichever is greater, including servings in the specified amounts from at least two (2) of the following five (5) food groups:

(i) Fruit: one-half (1/2) cup or more;

(ii) Vegetable: one-half (1/2) cup or more;

(iii) Nonfat or low-fat dairy: one-half (1/2) cup or more;

(iv) Meat or meat alternative equaling at least:

(A) One ounce (1 oz) meat, poultry, or seafood;

(B) One egg;

(D) Two (2) tablespoons nut butter; or

(E) One ounce (1 oz) nuts and seeds; or

(v) Whole grains: provides at least eight (8) grams of whole grains and meets at least one of the following criteria:

(A) Contains fifty percent (50%) whole grain ingredients; or

(B) Lists whole grains as the first ingredient.

(2) At least one of the two (2) food groups shall be a fruit or non-fried vegetable. 21-38-4. Default beverages in children's meals.

(a) A restaurant shall not sell a children's meal with a beverage unless the default beverage is one of the following:

(1) Water with no added natural or artificial sweeteners;

(2) Unflavored nonfat or low-fat milk with no added natural or artificial sweeteners; or

(3) Non-dairy milk alternative that is nutritionally similar to cow's milk with no added natural or artificial sweeteners.

(b) When taking food and beverage orders for a children's meal, restaurant employees shall offer one of the default beverages set forth in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) Nothing in this section prohibits a restaurant from selling, or a customer from purchasing, a beverage other than the default beverage included with a children's meal, if the customer requests the substitute or alternative beverage. 21-38-5. Menus and menu boards. The children's meals and default beverages that meet the nutrition standards listed in §§ 21-38-3 and 21-38-4 shall be listed or displayed on a restaurant's menu and menu boards, including, without limitation, online menus and menus used by delivery-based entities. 21-38-6. Enforcement.

(a) The department of health shall implement, administer, and enforce this chapter, and is hereby authorized to issue rules and regulations consistent with this chapter and shall have all necessary powers to carry out the purpose of this chapter.

(b) Within ninety (90) days of the passage date of this chapter, or any amendments thereto, the department of health shall send a copy of this chapter or any such amendment, and other written informational resources created in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, to all restaurants subject to this chapter.

(c) The department of health shall create written informational resources and signage in English and Spanish summarizing the requirements of this chapter to help support restaurants and employees in implementation of this chapter. 21-38-7. Restaurants. All restaurants shall provide a copy of this chapter and other written informational resources created in accordance with § 21-38-6 to all employees upon commencement of employment. Within thirty (30) days of receiving a copy of this chapter and other written informational resources, and on a regular basis for all new employees, while this chapter is in effect, all restaurants shall train employees on how to comply with the provisions of this chapter. All restaurants shall maintain records documenting the nutritional content of children’s meal food and beverages and make such records available to the department of health on request.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on January 1, 2027.