The Stats are in – the proof is in the pudding.
In 2008 the USDA valued the home based food businesses at 5 Billion dollars. In 2016 those businesses were valued at 20 Billion dollars. I have not been able to find the latest numbers, but more and more states are raising or eliminating the cap home bakers can earn. Of course, I don’t have a crystal ball, but it does seem reasonable to predict a measurable increase when the next stats are released.
Great news for home bakers
Back when I first started following the cottage food laws, many states did not allow bakers to sell what they made in their home kitchens. If a state did have a cottage law, the amount of money a home baker could generate was pretty low, around $5000 and most of the states required that foods made at home be sold at farmers markets.
As more and more states passed laws paving the path for home bakers to work at home and make money, the restrictions began to change. More non hazardous foods were added to the list in some states, the income cap began to raise. Now many states allow direct to the customer sales.
Depending on where you live, it is possible to earn a living wage and even better. Some states have completely dropped the income cap. Wyoming is moving beyond cottage laws and have passed the “food freedom” movement. Wyoming is the first state to pass a law that eliminates almost all regulations on local, homemade food sales.
What is your states limit on sales?
Sales limits are always changing, but I want to give you at least an idea of whether or not cottage food laws are a good fit for you. I got the following information from FLPC_Cottage-Foods-Report_August-2018.FLPC_Cottage-Foods-Report_August-2018.
The Laws are changing
The laws are changing constantly and what I am sharing here is a simplification of the laws. I am not an attorney, and by the very definition of the words cottage food laws, I can not offer any legal advice and can’t guaranty the anything on this site is currently accurate. I gather information from a lot of sources. On of those is the Harvard School of Law. They have been instrumental in the success of the cottage law movement and getting the laws passed.
I encourage you to go and read the latest report that they have written. It has attempted to compile a readable summary of the laws and how they work. It will take a little time for you to go through the entire report, but it is worth the effort.
