Happy Kitchen

Kathleen, you’re right… it is strange that sales are allowed at farmers markets and not from home, and yet, a number of states have restrictions like this. Fortunately most allow sales from home too.

From what I’ve seen, it takes just one person to activate a cottage food law, or an amendment, in a state. Usually it involves finding a…[Read more]

Nicole, you are not required to get a license from the health department to sell your food, but it’s very reasonable for your farmers market to require a business license. It’s the same basic license any business of any type would get, and it’s usually pretty easy — you would apply with your city or county. It’s also relatively inexpensive……[Read more]

April, I’m not the ultimate guru on this but I did a little research for Florida (I’m more familiar with California’s tax laws, but Florida’s look similar). The bottom line is that it doesn’t look like you need to charge sales tax.

One important factor for charging sales tax is whether the product is intended to be consumed on the seller’s…[Read more]

Sandy, I personally know many cottage food operations in CA that make caramels and have had them approved. However, some counties are a little stricter than others, but I still don’t think any would say no. What county are you from? Of course, the only way to know for sure would be to talk to your county’s environmental health department.

The law…[Read more]

Leslie, I’ll try to tackle your questions. Keep them coming!

This site is really dedicated to cottage foods, or value-added homemade foods. If you want to sell uncut fruits and vegetables, then you should be able to do that without any kind of permit. Eggs and milk are a little different… the eggs will probably be okay, though some states have…[Read more]