Amanda_Olsen

Christine, this will not affect the sales cap on the HKO law.

This is a fantastic advancement to the cottage food law! Good work Rebecca and team. Hopefully the governor signs it soon.

Although this is a dramatic improvement to the current cottage food law, and it represents a breakthrough in a state that has consistently been stubborn, I don’t think this can be properly termed a food freedom initiative. I…[Read more]

The health dept could fine you, but I’m not sure if they will take immediate action. But once you go over the limit you are no longer operating as a home kitchen operation.

Here are some ideas for finding a commercial kitchen: http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial-kitchen

Rules are often different for B&Bs. I’m not an expert on those laws, though I’ve heard that laws usually only allow B&Bs to offer food to customers on their premises. Some states don’t allow B&Bs to sell food to their own customers (even though they can serve the same food to them onsite).

Assuming that’s the case, then you probably need to…[Read more]

That sounds like great news! I read the article, and if I understand correctly, this will only change things for the Cottage Food Law. Will any of the changes affect the Home Kitchen Operation Law (cupcake law)? I would love to see the cap on gross receipts removed for that as well!

Yes, my daughter and I got the Cupcake Law passed in Aurora, IL in January, 2017. We simply started with and email on the city website (I sent it in the fall of 2016, and they didn’t contact me until December or January). We didn’t need to do a letter. We just worked with someone from the city and she invited us to the meetings with Aldermen and…[Read more]

It depends on what state you live in, but in almost all states, cheese cannot be an ingredient in any cottage food item. Baking dried tomatoes into bread will probably be allowed. Jalapenos are less likely, but possible if they’re baked in the bread.

Yes, you need to use a commercial kitchen, and you need to get the proper licensing and training from the health dept. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

First of all, I just want to clarify that the Home Kitchen Operation law is only in a select few counties. If your county is one of the ones that allows homemade baked goods to be sold under that law, then I’d assume that you would still have to package and label the product. The reasons for packaging and labeling are based on health and safety…[Read more]

Yes, you can start any kind of food business if you use a commercial kitchen, but you’ll also need to get the necessary licenses to run your business, which can be complicated.