Hi there,

Congrats to Virginia residents, who can now use their state's new cottage food bill!

Hawaii's new bill also technically went into effect this month, but based on how it was written, it won't change anything until later this year (or maybe even next year).

I thought Alaska might have their new law in effect by now too, but their bill is still waiting on their governor's signature.


Virginia's path to a cottage food amendment was quite unique. It started late last year with a cottage food entrepreneur getting mostly shutdown by the ag department. Within just a couple months, the ag department changed their stance due to an Institute for Justice letter, and a month later, their new cottage food bill passed. It's one of the fastest turnarounds I've ever seen for a state!

Virginia was the last remaining state to restrict sales to only two sales venues.* Previously, producers could only sell from home and at farmers markets, but now they can sell at all in-person events. Without question, this change will be hugely beneficial for most cottage food entrepreneurs in Virginia!

Their new law also triples the amount of acidified foods (pickles, salsas, etc) that a producer can sell, loosens the labeling requirements for certain products, and clarifies that advertising online is allowed.**

These improvements bumped Virginia up a level on Forrager's map, from "okay" to "good". Hopefully these sudden improvements will inspire more amendments in the future, and soon bring Virginia closer to having a "great" cottage food law!

Forraging ahead,

David


* There are still some parts of Missouri where producers can only sell from home and online. But most residents in the state can sell at events and roadside stands as well. Hopefully their law will change soon to make the regulations consistent for all.

** Please note: I initially thought (and announced) that Virginia's new law also allows shipping and online sales, but that is not the case. Hopefully someday!