I do not sell home-cooked food but had looked at as a business opportunity in the past. At the time, I saw that there were some economic development type centers where one could be rent an "approved" commercial kitchen for several hours or however long was needed to produce food that was compliant with the laws of our state (New Mexico). It seemed these were set up to help people who may wish to produce small batches of things for a farmer's market, etc. It may be worth seeing if Colorado has something similar.

I have not researched things recently, but I think more states and communities are passing laws to make things a bit easier for home producers. Those would definitely be worth looking into.

Have you checked out the Cottage Food Law in Florida?

I was just going to suggest the same thing. It depends on exactly what you are selling, but there are exceptions now to the rule about inspected kitchens for low-dollar operations.

Just read the Cottage Food Law for Florida, thanks. Now, if only I could use my special ingredient...

You're one of the few! Most people move from snow to FL, not vice versa. :)

Are you going to start a bakery?

Plllog - I might. going for my medical mj dispensary training here in Florida at the end of July. Might be nice to be a budtender!

I moved from snow (NJ) to Florida in 1998 and really thought I'd live here forever. The heat has gotten to me. The major maintenance in the garden has gotten to me. The nasty people in Boca Raton have gotten to me. Time to move on.

I must say that I would have to leave FL if I had to live in Boca, for sure!

It's not a bad place to live until it gets hot and humid and... oh, wait, it's almost always hot and humid. I never thought I would miss the seasons.

Boca is full of Bocans at any time of year.

Here in Michigan we're allowed to sell home baked items and some canned goods, without an inspection of the kitchen, under the Cottage Food Laws. The ingredients must be listed, the label must state that the item was made in a home kitchen and you can't make more than $25,000 per year. I still couldn't use your "secret ingredient" here, though.

As for Florida, Mother used to live in Dade City. It was hot no matter when I visited her, but my stepdad loved to golf and watch the Detroit Tigers at Lakeland at spring training. They bought a house and Mother joined the Garden Club, the local Geneology Society and volunteered at the local hospital. The first year they left at the end of October, came back to MIchigan in early May. The next year Mother refused to leave until after Christmas, she didn't want to miss the holidays with family but they stayed until May. The year after that they left after Christmas and came back early, in March, so she didn't miss Easter. She said it was too hot to garden and she didn't learn anything at the Geneology Society that she didn't learn here already. (grin) Then my stepdad got sick and he liked the doctor he had here but did not like the doctor he had in Florida, so that year they didn't go to Florida at all. When he passed away my mother promptly sold the Florida house and moved right back to Michigan, she didn't like it there and had pared her time there down to about 3 months per year, LOL.

As for me, anything over 80 is way too hot. My girls say that if I get a retirement home it can't be anywhere south, I'd have to get one in Alaska!

Annie

I have no opinion about Florida--vacationed there once, had a good time, mostly in the general vicinity of Coral Gables. People seemed nice there back then. Given, that however, and what you're saying about those neighbors, remember that they live in the "rat's mouth". There may be something obvious going on there. ;)

Ricky, good choice besides your avocation. It's sunnier in Denver than in Los Angeles.

I don't do humidity, but I've been shivering all day in overcast and 71° F.

I've been wondering about the differentiation between cottage laws and needing a license, after seeing this article about only two states requiring a license to sell homemade food. Personally I'm a little surprised canned goods are legal to sell at all.

https://patch.com/wisconsin/oakcreek/wisconsin-selling-cookies-against-law-legal-challenge-works

A couple of years ago I bought a big box of full-sized flat sheets of parchment paper off Kijiji. The lady had intended to sell home baking out of her home, and the laws stated that she has to use a commercial kitchen. She checked around an no one was willing to rent one to her, or if they were, it wasn't feasible.

OTOH, there are people on Facebook selling cupcakes and cookies out of their home all the time, so I don't know why the difference, unless the first lady went by the rules, whereas these others don't, obviously.

I don't know about other states, but about seven years ago a neighbor of mine wanted to start selling the energy bars she makes, and at that time you did have to have the use of an inspected kitchen. There've been a lot of changes to the law in FL in recent years, and perhaps other places as well.

I think that there are a lot of people that don't go by the rules and just do it. Obviously, the ones that play the game right end up not being able to do it. We have many people in town that sell things out of their home. I know they don't have a license and I'll bet money the IRS doesn't know they do it either!

There has been some change here in California, too. There are "food incubators" where people book time at weird hours (a lot like booking a music rehearsal room at a university) to make small business foods to sell.

A few years ago, they put in a kind of cottage law, but it's very limited. There's a fairly generous limit to the amount you can make (it's been raised to $50K), you can only have one non-family employee, there are limits on shipping (most places don't allow use of a carrier) and out of county deliveries, and there's a very specific list of what can be sold. Mostly it's non-perishable baked goods and candies. Also things made from fruit and nuts. Nothing with dairy or eggs that aren't part of the bake (i.e., cookies and cakes; yes, custard, no). Nothing pickle or fermented or meat. No low acid canning and probably not low sugar.

There are different categories for those who are selling to consumers and those selling to resellers. Both require posted licenses.

In poor communities, however, there are a lot of people who make ends meet by selling home cooking to the neighbors. That's more of a sharing economy type thing, though, where no one can afford commercial prepared foods, and are working too many hours to cook for themselves, so they pay for the local granny to make meals. That might even fall under some kind of domestic labor thing. No one is making enough money for the tax man to care, and so long as it's sub rosa, enforcement usually turns a blind eye.

pillog -Cooking for other people can be explained as given for free but asking for a donation. The tax man can be avoided that way, though not entirely ethical IMO - that's just me - but I do completely understand people trying to make a little side money. There are no regulations for free food (samples, tastings, gifts) but as soon as you charge money for it the established published rules apply and are in place for a reason.

Here in NC there are penalties for selling food without Dept of Ag inspected kitchens. They could shut you down forever. However, many do. I was more concerned with the FDA when I started selling. Crossing them would be gigantic and anyone selling food should follow their "guidelines" and needs to be registered with them. The bottom line is there are such things in place so that if someone gets sick the government has a means to identify the source and take action to stop the spread. Think about it. We all want our food to be safe. We want to trust that what we buy to eat is safe, made by a little old lady or a large conglomerate. You play with people's health or their very life.

Personally, I would not want to buy food with an illegal ingredient in it, from a kitchen not inspected by a food regulation agency, whether I knew the chef or not. I am surprised, fawnridge, that you published what you do on an open-to-the-world forum. Moving to another state where the ingredient is not illegal the products should still be manufactured in an inspected food safe kitchen IMO.

nancy - read my posts carefully, like a lawyer would. CYA is a way of life.

Just a word of caution in re Colorado. I grow vegetables in a little hydroponic tower, which means I occasionally find myself at the hydro store, where most people are much more interested in growing illicit substances, of course.

The guy who runs the place has told me with great bitterness that Floridians are viewed askance in the states where these things are legal, when they go to get licensed as growers. I suspect that anyone from S FL is going to get looked at a lot more closely than a local will.

I was just approved for mj in my snowbird state of Arizona. Good luck to you, Ricky in your ventures.

Writersblock, is that for reverse snowbirds or all new residents? I'd think that since Ricky is making a permanent move for the better weather :), it might be somewhat better with the locals? Like surf thugs are nicer to people who move to the neighborhood than those who just turn up out of nowhere to elbow in on a crowded break.

Westsider, are you selling?

Well, the hydro guy blames it on the shenanigans of a particular group from FL who have been skirting the law and selling things that are still illegal, as well as misrepresenting what they sell. I think it would apply to anyone who gives FL as their former primary residence.

He's quite concerned that their activities may eventually lead to recriminalization, as a matter of fact.

Wow! That's a shame. I'm not a big fan of legal and open weed, though perfectly fine with actual medical use, but prohibition wasn't working, and legal and open is better than criminal and open! I hope they can shut down that group.

Ricky, from what Writersblock says, I think it would behoove you to emphasize a New Jersey native accent--and register your license plates in Colorado ASAP!

I won't be growing more than one or two plants, just for fun and baking. We'll be taking about 50 orchids with us, though, and I hope to find a house with a sunroom. Plllog - because I spent more than a dozen years in radio, I really don't have much of an accent of any type, but I can do a southern drawl if I have to!

I know most Floridians don't drawl, but I was really just thinking that if they're hostile to people from Florida, you could play up the New Jersey you said you came from. :)

Good luck with the orchids. You might have to add on a conservatory. :)

No, Plllog I am a buyer. In Arizona there are about 12 medical diagnoses which can get you approved for medical mj. I have the only nonspecific diagnosis which is severe and chronic pain. I have, among others, degenerative disc disease and osteoarthritis with many epidural and other injections. I see pain specialists. So in April I went to the mj authorizing doctor and was approved and I got a card. Then I went to a dispensary and bought jellie beans and a chocolate bar and a tincture. The edibles take 45 minutes or so to work. I need to experiment with dosages. I was not happy with the effect during my 3 experiments. But now I am back in Chicagoland. Today have appt with knee replacement surgeon. The good fight continues.

We're in a real tangled web here in Canada. There are dispensaries selling cannibis for medical purposes only, and they keep getting raided and shut down, yet it's legal to take it for medicinal purposes.

In 2018, weed is going to be legal for recreation purposes as well as medicinal. I'm not struck on making it legal so that everyone can smoke, I don't want it second-hand, any more than I like cigarette smoke second hand. I also don't want more people to be driving high.

A friend of mine's hubby has debilitating pain, and uses mj for medicinal purposes and it really works for him. I know she was baking some cupcakes this week for him; I'm not sure what else she puts it in, or how he takes it.

Ouch! Westsider, I didn't mean to pry! Was only curious because of the main topic. Many good thoughts coming to you for the success of your various treatments! I have a friend who has pain related sleep issues for whom the pills seem to be working, but it took awhile of trying. And another who also takes them for sleep who loves them. Perhaps it's worth another try when you're in Arizona again...