Iowa: the home-kitchen movement
Full cottage food Cottage food law · Home food processing establishment license
Iowa has a two-track system: a no-license cottage-food exemption (Iowa Code §137F.20, created by HF2431 in 2022) for non-TCS foods sold directly to consumers with no sales cap, and a licensed Home Food Processing Establishment program (ch. 137D, $50/year, under $50,000 annual sales) for broader foods including limited TCS items and sales through stores. Both are administered at the state level by DIAL; there is no food-freedom act and no MEHKO-style hot-meal program.
Status, history, and administering agency are verified from the state law guide's primary sources. Supporter/opposition research for this state is still in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Where it stands
HF2767 (91st GA, 2026 — successor to HF2444): would have added new §137F.21 letting food establishments (e.g., grocery stores) sell cottage food if the producer delivers directly to the consumer, items stay separated/packaged/labeled with a posted notice, and created a farm-to-table event license. Passed the Iowa House 89–0 on April 27, 2026, but died in the Senate Ways and Means Committee when the session adjourned — it did NOT become law (no §137F.21 appears in the Iowa Code). HF1006 (2026, introduced; raw milk dairy premises and food processing plant provisions) — final status could not be verified from a primary source. No food-freedom act exists in Iowa: HF319 ('Iowa Food Freedom Act,' 2021) was introduced but never enacted. No MEHKO-style hot/prepared-meal home kitchen program exists. Context: HF2431 (2022) created the current two-track system (cottage-food exemption + HFPE license, cap raised from $35,000 to $50,000); HF661 (2023) expanded 'homemade food item' to include made-to-order food for immediate consumption.
Cottage food fight in Iowa
- 2022 — HF2431 — two-track system; cap raised $35,000 to $50,000
HF2431 (2022) created Iowa's current two-track system (cottage-food exemption + HFPE license) and raised the cap from $35,000 to $50,000. Source - 2026 — Cottage food law
HF2767 (91st GA, 2026 — successor to HF2444): would have added new §137F.21 letting food establishments (e.g., grocery stores) sell cottage food if the producer delivers directly to the consumer, items stay separated/packaged/labeled with a posted notice, and created a farm-to-table event license. Source
How we got here
- 2026 — Cottage food law Cottage food fight
HF2767 (91st GA, 2026 — successor to HF2444): would have added new §137F.21 letting food establishments (e.g., grocery stores) sell cottage food if the producer delivers directly to the consumer, items stay separated/packaged/labeled with a posted notice, and created a farm-to-table event license. Source - 2026 — Cottage food law
Passed the Iowa House 89–0 on April 27, 2026, but died in the Senate Ways and Means Committee when the session adjourned — it did NOT become law (no §137F.21 appears in the Iowa Code). Source - 2026 — Cottage food law
HF1006 (2026, introduced; raw milk dairy premises and food processing plant provisions) — final status could not be verified from a primary source. Source - 2021 — Cottage food law
No food-freedom act exists in Iowa: HF319 ('Iowa Food Freedom Act,' 2021) was introduced but never enacted. Source - 2022 — HF2431 — two-track system; cap raised $35,000 to $50,000 Cottage food fight
HF2431 (2022) created Iowa's current two-track system (cottage-food exemption + HFPE license) and raised the cap from $35,000 to $50,000. Source
Supporters
Supporter research for this state is in progress — nothing is listed until it can be sourced.
Opposition
No on-record opposition has been verified for this state yet.
The deciders
Governor
Office of the Governor of Iowa (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
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