TAMPA, Fla. — More Floridians are turning home kitchens into small businesses under Florida’s cottage food law, which allows people to make and sell certain lower-risk foods without operating a licensed commercial kitchen.
Renee Fulwood, owner and baker of Rae of Sunshine Bakery, is among those using the law to sell baked goods from home.
Fulwood makes sourdough bread, cookies and other baked goods through her home-based business. “I’ve always loved cooking, I’ve always loved baking and I feel like I’ve always been good at it,” Fulwood said.
Fulwood started the business last year, and it has grown since. “I opened it up and started with a couple of preorders where people would just come to my home and pick them up, and then from there we grew,” Fulwood said.
The Florida Department of Agriculture states that the state’s cottage food law allows people to make and sell certain foods considered lower risk for food-borne illness from home kitchens without having to operate a licensed commercial food establishment.
The University of Florida IFAS Extension in Hillsborough County said that interest in cottage food businesses is coming from people with a range of backgrounds. “Some have been military families, there’s been small farm owners and then people trying to make some extra income over at the farmers markets,” said Joshua Payne, a nutrition and health agent with the UF/IFAS Extension in Hillsborough County.
The extension office offers an introduction to cottage foods course for people looking to get started. Officials said the course has attracted as many as 150 people. The next course is taking place on Sept. 10 on Zoom.
Payne said one of the first lessons is understanding which foods are allowed under the law and which are not. “Vegetable products unfortunately are not allowed, so things like ketchup, BBQ sauce, things of that nature are not allowed under cottage foods and you would have to find a different route to be able to sell that,” Payne said.
Payne said foods such as bread, cookies and certain jams are allowed.
Cottage food operations do not require a state permit, but operators must follow rules that include labeling requirements. Under Florida law, annual sales cannot exceed $250,000.
For Fulwood, the business has given her a way to build something of her own while encouraging other aspiring bakers. “Anyone can open a farm stand, but it’s the products you put on there that’s going to keep people coming back,” Fulwood said.
Fulwood is preparing to bring her baked goods to local farmers’ markets. She is also organizing a Polk County Farm Stand Crawl with over 13 local stands in honor of American Farm Stand Day on Aug. 30.
Dining and Cooking