New healthy meal and drink requirements go into effect at Montgomery County restaurants Sept. 15

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Full implementation of Montgomery County's "Healthy Meals for Children" legislation will go into effect September 15.

The legislation that was passed in 2022 requires food and restaurant facilities in the County that offer children's meals to include healthy food and beverage options.

The beverage portion of the bill went into effect on March 15, 2023. The food portion of the bill will go into effect Friday.

The County says the bill does not prohibit the choice of the customer, and that food service facilities may continue to sell meals not considered a healthy children's meal. They can also continue selling food or beverages which are not considered healthy options.

The bill does require that if a food service facility offers children's meals, at least one of them be a healthy children's meal.

The County published this checklist to help determine what is a healthy children's meal.