How to Improve Your Cottage Food Law with Erica Smith

The Forrager Podcast for Cottage Food Businesses

Erica Smith, who works for the Institute for Justice, is a major advocate for the cottage food industry. She and her team have worked with dozens of cottage food businesses to spearhead many of the recent cottage food and food freedom law improvements across the country.

I wanted Erica to shed some light on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting cottage food businesses and what steps people can potentially take to improve their situation.

Many states’ restrictions are preventing cottage food producers from adapting their businesses in a safe way right now, and Erica came to me with the idea that this current situation could actually help spawn some improvements in many states’ laws.

In addition to that, Erica discusses the current law changes (including Wyoming’s greatly improved law), what they have worked on in the past, which states they’re targeting in the future, and why this industry is so important.

What You’ll Learn

• The story of one woman who got threatened with a $10,000 fine if she kept selling her cakes
• The story of one woman who is selling cake pops to send her son to college
• How the coronavirus pandemic is affecting the cottage food industry
• Steps you can take if the coronavirus pandemic is negatively affecting you
• Why some states don’t allow online and mail order sales
• Which laws the Institute for Justice has helped changed in the past, what they’re currently working on, and what state they will target next
• The difference between cottage food and food freedom
• Background on Wyoming’s newly improved food freedom law (the best law in the country) and the “separate shelf” requirement
• Why most states are hesitant to pass a law like Wyoming’s
• What you can do to change the law in your state
• Why the Institute for Justice has focused on improving cottage food laws around the country

Resources

Erica Smith ([e-mail])

Institute for Justice Cottage Food Overview

National Food Freedom Initiative

Lawsuits in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Jersey, & North Dakota

Cottage Foods Survey

Get full show notes and transcript here: https://forrager.com/podcast/6