A new law brings cottage foods
to market, with some debate
Photos by Ted Holladay
By April M. Short
Miranda and Joe Schirmer of Santa Cruz’s family-owned Dirty Girl Produce organic farm have long been able to sell at farmers’ markets the tomatoes that their friends at Happy Girl Kitchen Co. can for them. Yet, because of the high cost of commercial kitchen space and complying with state regulations, they haven’t been able to sell Miranda Schirmer’s homemade strawberry jam.
That’s all changing. Thanks to the new California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616), which takes effect this winter, it will now be legal for the Schirmers and other home food artisans to prepare and sell certain non-potentially hazardous food products—jams, nuts, churros, breads and other goods that don’t involve cream or meat ingredients—to the local public.
“This enables our business to move in a direction we wouldn’t have been able to go: preserving what we’re growing, without having to take on a huge amount of risk,” says Miranda, who is excited to make use of the new law. “It’s a really practical law, and I think a lot of people are going to benefit.”
Miranda also believes the growth of new small-scale producers will be good for the environment and the community.
“This is giving the chance to micro-enterprises to pop up that otherwise wouldn’t,” she says. “And it can also be good for the price of food. If people don’t have to rent commercial space, they could charge a little bit less, and it might make their products more affordable.” Tabitha Stroup, owner of Friend In Cheeses Jam Co. in Santa Cruz, is not so enthusiastic. Stroup has been a professional cook for two decades and is in her second official year of operation. Her gross sales are just over the limit required in order to benefit from the Homemade Food Act ($35,000 in the first year of operation, $50,000 two years after that).
While she says she admires the philosophy behind the act, she is wary of voicing full support. In her eyes, the new law could mean public health risks due to watered down regulations. She notes that she is required to undergo a yearly inspection for her commercial kitchen. By contrast, the law leaves whether to inspect home producers annually up to local heath departments, and does not require even an initial inspection of home producers that only sell direct to consumers, rather than through stores and other indirect outlets. “There are many concerns regarding sanitation. In a home kitchen we behave in another manner than the professionalism of a commercial kitchen,” she says, describing herself cooking at home in her slippers, beer in one hand, blaring Jane’s Addiction and watching the family cat scuttle past.
“I go into a different mindset than when I’m in my professional kitchen with my three-door refrigerator, three sinks and drain in the middle of the floor,” she says.
“This is a great start and the idea is good, I just think the wording is watered down and needs some tweaking,” Stroup says.
Christina Oatfield, who worked with the Sustainable Economies Law Center to help the bill win passage, says it offers plenty of safety mechanisms.
The legislation requires home food producers to complete a course designed by California’s health department specifically for cottage food enterprises. Home producers will also have to label their goods as made in a home kitchen, and register with local health departments. And the bill’s writers consulted county and state environmental health officials throughout the entire year-and-a-half legislative process, and revised the bill numerous times in accordance with health officials’ input.
What’s more, some 30 other states already allow sales of home-produced foods through their own cottage food laws.
“I think a lot of people were surprised that California was so late to adopt one of these laws, given how much activity there is going on here to stimulate local food economies,” Oatfield says. “I know consumers are excited for the additional options available to them—more small batches, more local food options and more opportunities to support local food producers in their communities.
It’s definitely a reflection of this shifting attitude about how our food is produced in this state.”
April M. Short is a lifelong storyteller and award-winning journalist whose work is dedicated to the issues affecting Santa Cruz—her home of six years—and the surrounding region.
For more information on the California Homemade Food Act, go to theselc.org.
About the author
At Edible Monterey Bay, our mission is to celebrate the local food culture of Santa Cruz, San Benito and Monterey Counties, season by season. We believe in sustainability, and we believe everyone has a right to healthful, clean and affordable food. We think knowing where our food comes from is powerful, and we hope our magazine, website and newsletters inspire readers to get to know and support our local growers, fishers, chefs, vintners and food artisans.
