A big victory! California Governor Jerry Brown signed SELC's cottage food bill into law on 9/22/12! The California Homemade Food Act (AB 1616) will allow food micro-enterprise to flourish throughout the state. This is indeed a momentous occasion for local food.

The job's not done. Please support SELC's ongoing efforts to implement the bill, train cottage food producers, and help pass similar laws in other states. Thank you!

What we've accomplished with your support: SELC's California Homemade Food Act was adopted and introduced in early February of this year by Assemblymember Mike Gatto. Since then, SELC has been nurturing this bill from introduction to passage. It took many hours of

• Legal research
• Community organizing
• Event planning
• Education
• Lobbying
• Communicating with the bill author and CA Legislative Counsel, and
• Other advocacy and research to support small-scale food production

With generous support from folks like you, we will be able to implement the bill, train cottage food producers, and help pass similar laws in other states. Please help us by donating what you can today!

Background Information:

Cottage Food Laws, sometimes referred to as Baker’s Bills, are laws that allow people to sell certain foods made in their home kitchens. Removing the significant financial and logistical barrier of having a commercial kitchen makes starting one’s own food business more accessible and more feasible for a greater number of people. It also gives consumers more access to a greater variety of home-cooked, artisan and other unique foods at their farmers’ market or right in their neighborhood.

For More Information:

See: www.cottagefood.org