Hi there,
It's been awhile since I've sent any updates about cottage food bills, and this time it's not because my summer was too busy, LOL.
It's actually because most cottage food legislation happens in the first half of the year. There's usually not too much to report about around this time of year.
So today, there's
no huge news -- just a few quick updates for you.
First off,
New Hampshire's 6th and final bill went into effect last week!
Licensed producers in New Hampshire can now sell freeze dried products, which surprisingly includes dairy products (like freeze dried ice cream). The only catch is that the dairy has to be commercially produced (for instance, a producer can't freeze dry homemade ice cream).
Congrats again to New Hampshire for passing an unprecedented SIX bills this year!
Also,
Ohio's micro-restaurant bill (HB 134) is currently making progress, which is a great news. It is getting voted on again this week, and
you can sign this petition to help support it. It's been 4 years since any state has passed a new law specifically for micro-restaurants.
And coincidentally,
Massachusetts' micro-restaurant bill (S 1512) has also had some recent activity, which was surprising to me, but good to see. They have been trying to pass a micro-restaurant bill for the past 3 years, and they haven't improved their cottage food law since it was initially created 25 years ago! Suffice it to say, passing any type of cottage food amendment would be a huge win for them.
And unfortunately, there are a number of
bills to add to the cottage food bill graveyard. If bills are not prioritized in a legislative session, then they die by default. I've already reported on some failed bills in previous newsletters, but here are the new ones that are officially dead:
Just to be clear, most of the bills that are still listed as "in progress" on
Forrager's bill map are probably also effectively dead. The two bills that I mentioned above are likely the only ones that have a chance of passing this year, but I don't mark a bill as "failed" until I've 100% confirmed that it has no chance.
I used to get a little bummed by failed bills, but now I accept it as part of the process. A lot of bills are tried: some succeed, and others fail. And the ones that fail will hopefully get introduced again next year!
Overall, it's been a great year for our industry! I'll have a full recap at year-end, but in the meantime, you can check out the bills map:
Click here to see the 2025 Cottage Food Bills MapForraging ahead,
David