I live on Long Island and have been cooking and selling food by word of mouth for years. I'm looking to put my name out more and fill more bellies! Unfortunately I'm not sure of the rules and regulations to start an at home food business.
I've considered this very thing, Pumpkin. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of red tape and hoops through which one must jump: health inspection / certification, business licensing, insurance (to name the more onerous). To the best of my understanding, regulations vary a fair bit from one location to the next. Why not call City Hall and ask?
You will first need to contact your local health dept. They can or can redirect you to the folks who can tell you all the rules and regs. I know for certain you will need a certified kitchen.
I will thank you it will be a start :)
That's a great idea asking a church thank you :)
Important:
You are lucky that you have been selling food and have not yet been blamed for food borne illness, death, etc. If you want to continue to open your own business, I strongly suggest that you immediately contact your insurance company to start a policy to protect you and your business. Your insurance company will have specific requirements that may be costly to provide before the company will insure you.
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