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.
Selling your homemade food items can be aided by an eye catching name for your business. Trying to decide on just the right one to entice customers can be difficult. This is a page about name ideas for a homemade food business.
If your home kitchen passes a Health Department inspection, then you can sell your homemade food products to the public. This is a page about selling homemade food products in stores.
This is a page about starting a home food delivery service. There is a lot to be done if you want to cook for at home and sell it. From calculating profitable prices to meeting food safety standards.
If your home kitchen passes an inspection by the Health Department, you can become eligible to sell your homemade food products to the public. This is a page about selling homemade food on eBay.
Selling homemade food, like condiments or snacks, can be a great start-up business. However, your home kitchen will need to pass health inspection first.
This is a page about selling baked goods at flea markets. One way to expand the market for your small baked goods business is to sell your product at the local flea market.
This is a page about selling home baked goods. Turn your love for baking into a small business concern.
