Tennessee: the home-kitchen movement
Food freedom Food freedom act
Tennessee's Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118) lets anyone produce and sell homemade food — including perishable TCS foods like pasteurized dairy — from a private residence with no license, permit, inspection, training, or sales cap, as long as products are labeled and sold only within Tennessee. Counties and cities are expressly preempted from regulating or prohibiting homemade-food production and sales.
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
2022: HB 813/SB 693 (Public Chapter 862), effective July 1, 2022, created the Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. § 53-1-118), replacing the old domestic-kitchen permit system — non-TCS homemade foods became exempt from state licensing, permitting, and inspection. 2024: no amendments to the homemade-food provisions were identified on official sources. 2025: HB 130/SB 484 (Public Chapter 431, signed May 15, 2025), effective July 1, 2025, expanded the act to allow certain TCS/perishable foods (e.g., pasteurized dairy; poultry under federal exemptions) with conditions — TCS items must be sold in person by the producer or an agent. 2026: no pending bills amending the homemade-food provisions were identified via the General Assembly's official records.
Residents can find and support local kitchens through the Tennessee hub — browse kitchens, read the law guide, and see what is cooking near you.
How we got here
- 2022 — Food freedom act
2022: HB 813/SB 693 (Public Chapter 862), effective July 1, 2022, created the Tennessee Food Freedom Act (T.C.A. Source - — Food freedom act
§ 53-1-118), replacing the old domestic-kitchen permit system — non-TCS homemade foods became exempt from state licensing, permitting, and inspection. Source - 2024 — Food freedom act
2024: no amendments to the homemade-food provisions were identified on official sources. Source - 2025 — Food freedom act
2025: HB 130/SB 484 (Public Chapter 431, signed May 15, 2025), effective July 1, 2025, expanded the act to allow certain TCS/perishable foods (e.g., pasteurized dairy; poultry under federal exemptions) with conditions — TCS items must be sold in person by the producer or an agent. 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 Tennessee (name not yet verified in this research pass)
Contact the deciders
A pre-written letter in Tennessee's own terminology. The buttons open it in your email — addressed by you to the office above. Nothing sends until you press send.