2026 Minnesota Statutes
142H.32 FOOD, DRINKING WATER, AND NUTRITION.
Subdivision 1.On-site food preparation.
A license holder that prepares, handles, or serves food or washes food, utensils, or equipment on site must comply with applicable requirements for food and beverage service establishments in chapter 157 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 4626, and local health department requirements.
Subd. 2.Off-site food preparation.
(a) Meals or snacks may be provided by an off-site, licensed food and beverage service establishment.
(b) The center must maintain on file a copy of the off-site food and beverage service establishment's current license and the contract to provide food for the center.
Subd. 3.Providing food.
A license holder must provide meals and snacks to the children in attendance. The license holder must supplement food provided by the parent if it does not meet United States Department of Agriculture Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nutritional requirements.
Subd. 4.Drinking water.
(a) The center must have a safe supply of drinking water pursuant to section 142H.35.
(b) Drinking water must be available to children throughout the hours of operation and offered at frequent intervals. Drinking water for children must be provided in single-service drinking cups, in reusable water bottles, in reusable cups, or from drinking fountains accessible to children.
(c) A license holder may provide drinking water to a child in a reusable water bottle or reusable cup if the center develops and ensures implementation of a written policy that at a minimum includes the following procedures:
(1) each day the water bottle or cup is used, the license holder must clean the water bottle or cup or allow the child's parent to bring the water bottle or cup home to clean it;
(2) a water bottle or cup must be assigned to a specific child and labeled with the child's first and last name;
(3) water bottles and cups must be stored in a manner that reduces the risk of a child using the wrong water bottle or cup; and
(4) a water bottle or cup must be used only for water.
Subd. 5.Menus.
The license holder must ensure:
(1) meals and snacks prepared or provided by the license holder or catered by a licensed food and beverage caterer comply with the meal pattern and nutritional requirements contained in the most current edition of the CACFP standards in Code of Federal Regulations, title 7, section 226.20;
(2) menus comply with the meal pattern and nutritional requirements contained in the most current edition of the CACFP standards in Code of Federal Regulations, title 7, section 226.20;
(3) the current menu is posted or made readily available to parents; and
(4) any food substitutions are noted on the menu at the time of the change.
Subd. 6.Sanitation.
(a) Procedures for preparing, handling, storing, and serving food and washing food, utensils, and equipment must comply with the requirements for food and beverage establishments in Minnesota Rules, chapter 4626.
(b) If the food is prepared off site by another facility or if food service is provided according to a contract with a food service provider, the facility or license holder must ensure that food is prepared in compliance with Minnesota Rules, chapter 4626.
(c) The license holder must provide refrigeration for dairy products and other perishable foods, whether supplied by the license holder or supplied by the parent. The refrigeration must have a temperature of 41 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
Subd. 7.Meals and snacks.
Except for infants under subdivision 11, the license holder must serve meals and snacks to children as follows:
(1) one snack for a child in attendance for two to five hours;
(2) one meal and two snacks or two meals and one snack for a child in attendance for five to ten hours;
(3) a minimum of two meals and two snacks for a child in attendance for more than ten hours; and
(4) a minimum of three meals and two snacks for a child in attendance for more than 14 hours.
Subd. 8.Prescribed diet requirements.
(a) If a child is unable to follow the CACFP meal pattern requirements due to a diet-related medical condition, a prescribed diet accommodation is required.
(b) The license holder must obtain documentation from the child's health care provider about the child's special dietary needs and keep that information current. The license holder must use this information to accommodate the child's dietary needs.
(c) When a license holder enrolls a child who requires a prescribed diet, the license holder must ensure that an individual child care program plan is developed and maintained in the child's record, pursuant to sections 142H.15, subdivision 3, and 142H.27.
(d) The license holder must provide for a child's prescribed dietary needs or require the parent to provide the prescribed diet items that are not part of the center's menu plan.
Subd. 9.Cultural or religious diet accommodations.
(a) When special diets are requested for cultural or religious reasons, the center must obtain written, dated, and signed instructions from the child's parent on how to accommodate the diet.
(b) The license holder must provide for a child's special diet for cultural or religious reasons or require the parent to provide the food items that are not part of the center's menu plan.
Subd. 10.Food allergy information.
Information about food allergies of the children in the center must follow the requirements in section 142H.15, subdivision 5.
Subd. 11.Infant food and feeding schedule.
The diet and feeding schedule of an infant must be determined by the infant's parent. The license holder of a center serving infants must:
(1) obtain written dietary instructions from the parent of the child that are used to develop the infant's feeding schedule and are updated as needed as the child's feeding needs change;
(2) have each individual infant's feeding schedule available in the food preparation area;
(3) offer the child formula or milk and nutritionally adequate solid foods in quantities at specified time intervals as determined by the parent;
(4) ensure infants are held or fed sitting up for bottled feedings until the infant can independently sit up and feed themselves. A bottle must not be propped at any time for an infant or fed to an infant in a crib, infant seat, or playpen;
(5) use sanitary procedures and practices to prepare, handle, and store formula, milk, breast milk, solid foods, and supplements, including having procedures to ensure bottles are matched to the correct infant. Procedures must be reviewed and certified by a health consultant;
(6) not warm or heat bottles in a microwave;
(7) not allow children access to bottle-warming devices; and
(8) label all bottles, breast milk, or prepared parent-provided food with the child's first and last name and date of preparation. All formula must be refrigerated immediately after preparation or upon arrival if the formula is prepared by the parent.
Subd. 12.Additional requirements.
(a) The center must serve food that is not a choking hazard and that is developmentally appropriate in size, amount, and texture.
(b) Program staff must be seated with the children during meal and snack times.
NOTE: This chapter, as added by Laws 2026, chapter 127, article 12, sections 1 to 37, is effective July 1, 2027. Laws 2026, chapter 127, article 12, section 41.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes