Hi there,

I have 13 more new cottage food bills to announce, and with 36 bills in total, 2025 now has more cottage food bills than ever before!

Even the landmark year of 2021 had fewer cottage food bills: 30 bills in total. However, more states had bills in 2021: 25 states that year, versus 21 states this year (so far).

Let's start with the bad news: one of the new bills is already dead. Colorado tried to allow perishable foods this year, but it already died in committee.

Everything else is good news. Of the dozen new bills that remain, there are some big ones: Nevada, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Indiana.

Nevada is in desperate need of a law improvement. They are ranked on the map as having the 2nd-worst law in the country (Michigan is ranked slightly lower). Nevada's bill would be a huge improvement for them, by increasing their sales limit to $100k (currently $35k), allowing online sales and in-state shipping, and allowing acidified foods (like pickles).

Massachusetts is another that has long needed a reform. Their current law dates back 25 years, and makes it very difficult for someone to start selling their food. They have a couple similar bills that would allow them to have a more modern cottage food law. Both bills would allow direct sales of non-perishable products, including in-state shipping. One of the bills would exempt producers from needing a permit and would prevent local governments from imposing restrictions, while the other bill would require producers to get a permit but would also allow them to sell fermented foods. They also have a third bill that would allow micro-restaurants.

And speaking of micro-restaurants, Ohio's bill is pretty interesting. They are calling it a MEHKO (micro-restaurant) bill, but it reads more like a food freedom bill. It's kind of a hybrid of the two. It's like food freedom bills in that it would allow almost all types of packaged foods (including items with meat), including wholesale and shipping of non-perishable foods. But it's like MEHKO bills in that it would also allow ready-to-eat meals and has lots of rules and oversight, including permitting and a kitchen inspection. Honestly, I'm not even sure if it would be completely legal as it's currently written, and would probably get objections from the USDA if passed. It will be interesting to see what happens to it.

Indiana's food freedom bill would allow perishable foods and raise their sales limit to an eye-popping $1,500,000. So basically, it would be like having an unlimited sales limit. They're obviously trying to protect against a major food manufacturer using the cottage food law as a loophole.

And there are a few other notable new bills:

• Minnesota introduced a third bill, which would allow in-state shipping.
• Clearly not wanting to be outdone by New Hampshire's 6 bills, Texas added a 4th and 5th bill, both of which are focused on their sale limit: one would increase it to $150k (currently $50k), and the other would remove the sales limit entirely.
• Kentucky introduced a couple minor bills, one which would allow roasted coffee beans, and another which would prevent local governments from imposing restrictions.
• New York, which has struggled for the past few years to pass a micro-restaurant bill, took a different approach this year: their new bill would provide an exemption for producers that directly sell up to $12,500/year, and would allow acidified foods and fermented foods.

That's quite an array of cottage food bills this year!

Check out the 2025 Cottage Food Bills Map


Forraging ahead,

David