The Movement — home kitchens, state by state
Every state decides whether neighbors may cook for neighbors. This is the living record: the law in each state, its history, the supporters and the opposition (described briefly and neutrally), and the officials who decide. We publish positions from the public record only — always linked. Where research is still in progress, the state page says so honestly.
51 jurisdictions: 16 Cottage food (restricted) · 2 County / local opt-in · 10 Food freedom · 16 Full cottage food · 5 Permit program (home meals) · 2 Restricted.
Track board: 37 jurisdictions have a cottage-expansion fight on record (72 tagged history/supporter/opposition items) · 2 jurisdictions have a street-vending fight on record (22 tagged items). Tagged items carry a visible track badge on each state page.
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawAlaska
Food freedom
Cottage food lawArizona
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawArkansas
Food freedom
Cottage food lawCalifornia
County / local opt-in
Cottage food fight
Street vendor fight
Cottage food lawColorado
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawConnecticut
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawDelaware
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawDistrict of Columbia
Permit program (home meals)
Cottage food fight
Street vendor fight
Cottage food lawFlorida
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawGeorgia
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawHawaii
Restricted
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawIdaho
Food freedom
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawIllinois
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawIndiana
Food freedom
Cottage food lawIowa
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawKansas
Full cottage food
Cottage food lawKentucky
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawLouisiana
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawMaine
County / local opt-in
Food sovereignty ordinance (town-level opt-in)Maryland
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawMassachusetts
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Retail Residential Kitchen (permitted as a 'Cottage Food Operation')Michigan
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawMinnesota
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawMississippi
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawMissouri
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food production operations (RSMo 196.298)Montana
Food freedom
Cottage food lawNebraska
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawNevada
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawNew Hampshire
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Exempt Homestead Food Operation (no license required)New Jersey
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawNew Mexico
Permit program (home meals)
Cottage food fight
Homemade Food Act (HB 177, 2021)New York
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food law (home processor exemption)North Carolina
Cottage food (restricted)
Home Processor Program (NCDA&CS Food and Drug Protection Division)North Dakota
Food freedom
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawOhio
Permit program (home meals)
Cottage food lawOklahoma
Food freedom
Homemade Food Freedom Act (current law through October 31, 2026)Oregon
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food law (ORS 616.723)Pennsylvania
Permit program (home meals)
Limited Food Establishment (LFE) registrationRhode Island
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawSouth Carolina
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawSouth Dakota
Full cottage food
Cottage food lawTennessee
Food freedom
Food freedom actTexas
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage food lawUtah
Food freedom
Cottage food lawVermont
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage food operator exemptionVirginia
Permit program (home meals)
Cottage food fight
Home food processing exemption — low-risk foods (§ 3.2-5130(C)(3))Washington
Cottage food (restricted)
Cottage food fight
Cottage Food OperationsWest Virginia
Full cottage food
Cottage food fight
Cottage foods — nonpotentially hazardous (permit-free)Wisconsin
Restricted
Cottage food fight
Pickle Bill (2009 Wisconsin Act 101; Wis. Stat. section 97.29(2)(b)2.) - home-canned acidic fruits and pickled vegetablesWyoming
Food freedom
Food freedom act
National supporters
Organizations working across states to make home kitchens lawful. A national group appears on a state's page only where it genuinely works in that state.
COOK Alliance
National nonprofit legalizing the sale of home-cooked meals; sponsor of California's AB 626 / AB 1325 / AB 2315 and advocate for MEHKO laws in other states.
Institute for Justice
National public-interest law firm; its Food Freedom Initiative has helped secure homemade-food reforms in more than 20 states.
Source: https://ij.org/press-release/new-report-grades-each-states-laws-
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund
Legal defense fund for direct farm-to-consumer sales; supported the Wyoming Food Freedom Act and Maine food-sovereignty defenses.
Source: https://www.farmtoconsumer.org/blog/2015/06/26/2015-annual-appea