New Bill Bans States from Blocking Simple Prep of Fresh Fruits and Veggies in Child Care

The Cutting Red Tape on Child Care Providers Act of 2025 is aiming to make it easier for daycares to feed kids better food. Essentially, Congress looked at the rules governing child care centers and decided that the current food preparation regulations are making it harder to serve fresh, healthy options like fruits and vegetables than it is to hand out pre-packaged snacks. They also noted that this regulatory headache is contributing to the decade-long decline of home-based child care, which hits working parents—especially those in rural areas or with non-traditional hours—the hardest (Sec. 2).

The Kitchen Counter Rule

This bill focuses on a very specific, common-sense change: removing regulatory barriers to what they call “simple food preparation.” For the purposes of this Act, “simple food preparation” means basic tasks like washing, peeling, cutting, and serving fruits and vegetables either raw or only very lightly processed (Sec. 3). Think of it as the difference between slicing an apple and cooking a casserole. The core of the bill, found in Section 4, explicitly prohibits states from creating any rules or requirements that serve as a “roadblock” to licensed or license-exempt child care facilities engaging in this simple prep of fresh produce. If a provider wants to wash and cut up carrots for snack time, the state can’t impose a regulation that makes that simple task difficult or impossible.

What This Means for Your Kid’s Lunch

If this passes, the most immediate impact is on child nutrition. For providers, it removes the friction point that often pushes them toward highly processed, shelf-stable options just to comply with complex rules. For children, it means a higher likelihood of fresh, minimally processed produce showing up on their plates. Imagine a home daycare provider who previously had to jump through hoops just to serve sliced peaches; this bill makes that process direct and simple, allowing them to focus on care rather than compliance paperwork.

The Regulatory Balancing Act

The goal here is two-fold: better nutrition and stabilized child care availability. Congress believes that by reducing the regulatory burden—even just this small piece—it can help keep smaller, home-based daycares open, which are vital for many families. However, this absolute prohibition on state barriers does step on the toes of state regulatory bodies (Sec. 4). While the intent is to remove unnecessary red tape, the language is broad enough to potentially limit a state's ability to enforce certain existing food safety codes if those codes are interpreted as a “barrier” to simple prep. The definition of “simple food preparation” is narrow (washing, cutting), which is good for safety, but state regulators will need clear guidance to ensure they can still enforce basic hygiene and food handling rules without violating the new federal prohibition. Ultimately, this bill is a targeted attempt to use regulatory relief to improve public health and shore up a critical service for working families.