Brandy Nelson with Wild Currant Alaska
Brandy Nelson of Soldotna, AK shares how she built a strong customer base by selling very unique and healthy products, and the challenges she needs to consider to continue scaling her business further
New Hampshire Occasional Food
Although New Hampshire has a homestead food law that accommodates many types of home food businesses, they have a special allowance for those who sell from home occasionally. A producer is considered an “occasional food service establishment” if they sell for no more than 4 days in a 28-day period (once per week), AND if… [read more]
Texas
Texas passed their first (very restrictive) cottage food law in 2011 (SB 81). Over the years, they have faced massive resistance to improving their law, but they also have the largest cottage food advocacy group of any state. After passing major improvements in 2013 (HB 970), 2019 (SB 572), and 2025 (SB 541), they now… [read more]
Alaska
In 2024, Alaska replaced their old cottage food law with a food freedom law (HB 251), and is now one of the best states for selling homemade food. Producers can sell almost any type of homemade food, including perishable foods and certain items with meat. Producers can sell almost anywhere within the state, including in-person,… [read more]
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania is a bit different than other states in that it doesn’t have laws specific to cottage food operations, but the Department of Agriculture simply allows “limited food establishments” that meet specific guidelines. The application process is lengthy, but limited food establishments have a lot of flexibility once they’re setup. Unlike other states, in Pennsylvania, there are many similarities between the… [read more]
Wyoming
LAW UPDATE Since this page was last updated, Wyoming improved their food freedom law with a new bill (HB 118). As of July 1st, 2021, producers can now sell eggs under the law, and clarifies that there should be as few restrictions as possible for businesses using this law. Wyoming has the best cottage food… [read more]
Utah
NEW LAW As of May 5th, 2021, Utah passed a new bill (HB 94) which allows producers to run mini restaurants from their home. It is similar to California’s MEHKO law. Utah has two laws that allow for the sale of homemade food. This page is for Utah’s food freedom law, also known as the… [read more]
Virginia Home Food Processing Operation
Unlike almost every other state, Virginia allows people to operate very unrestricted food businesses out of their homes. Their food laws are very different than most states, written in such a way that there is not any distinction between a food business that uses a commercial kitchen versus a home kitchen. Instead, the distinction is provided by… [read more]