Jessi Deily with Colby Jack Rabbit
Jessi Deily of Helena, MT sells macarons and custom-decorated meringue cookies with her cottage food business and shares her journey from struggling artist to successful baker and TikTok influencer
Invest In Yourself with Stephanie Wiley
Stephanie Wiley of Whitefish, MT shares how the tragic loss of her son inspired her to start a cookie business, which she has quickly grown by seeking help from others and investing in the business
Black Coffee Ranch & Mercantile
Black Coffee Ranch is a family ranch and mercantile servicing central and south-central Montana via drop points. We provide grass-fed meats, raw milk, a variety of honey products, jams and other dry goods.
2021 Cottage Food Bills
2021 is a fresh start in so many ways, but as always, a new year means a new round of cottage food bills!
And what a big round it is! At least one-third of states are actively working on improving their cottage food law this year.
I actually can’t remember a year when there were this many cottage food amendments on the table. It reminds me of nearly a decade ago, when states were busy creating their initial cottage food laws.
In all likelihood, the pandemic, and the resulting surge of interest in cottage foods, is part of the push to improve the laws in many states.
2021 Recap: A Record Year for the Cottage Food Industry
WOW… what a year it has been for our growing cottage food industry!
As I wrote about last year, the pandemic really highlighted the need for people to be able to sell their homemade food.
And in 2021, states responded in a BIG way! This year, more states improved their laws for selling homemade food than in any other year in history.
Montana
Montana first created a cottage food law in 2015, but it was almost entirely replaced in 2021 with the passage of the Montana Local Food Choice Act (SB 199). This “food freedom” law removed almost all restrictions from selling homemade food, and it prevents government agencies from regulating a producer. To sell homemade food, a… [read more]
Montana Cottage Food
In 2015, Montana passed their first cottage food bill (HB 478), which is explained on this page. However, they now have a newer law, the Montana Local Food Choice Act (SB 199), also known as their food freedom law. That law almost entirely replaces this one. The only reason someone would use this cottage food… [read more]
Montana SB 199
The Montana Local Food Choice Act, which allows direct intrastate sales of any homemade food that doesn’t contain meat