California’s New Law Is a Game-Changer for Home Chefs… and for Cities That Want to Get Stronger
When my husband and I were planning our wedding back in 2017, we had one dream for the reception food: pig roast. We got a recommendation for a great local caterer and a few months before the wedding, she invited us into her home to taste the food. Her porch was piled high was catering trays, slow cookers and huge pans, and she led us into her cozy dining room where she sat us down to a meal that would become our wedding feast. It was all fantastic (mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, roasted pork, barbecue sauce, the whole deal) and I’m glad we got that tasting because, like most people, we hardly got to eat on our actual wedding day.
Photo by Edgar Castrejon
I didn’t think much of this experience until I read a recent article on the excellent food journalism site, Civil Eats. The article discusses a recently passed California that allows home cooks to prepare, serve and sell food that is cooked in their houses (not restaurants or commercial kitchens) to the public. In many municipalities, this sort of small-scale, bootstrapped business is—frustratingly—not legal.
During a time when restaurants are largely closed and many are going out of business, California’s regulation shift is a game-changer for small business owners like Denise Blackmon who prepares soul food from her kitchen in Moreno Valley, CA:
Blackmon, who launched Soul Goodness in August 2019, has seen her business grow substantially since California’s shelter in place order was enacted in March. She has gone from cooking two days a week to four or five, “and each time, I’m at my max,” she says. There are no soul food restaurants in Moreno Valley—an arid city located east of Riverside in Southern California—so her cooking has drawn a number of committed customers to Foodnome, the website that serves as a marketplace for her and other home cooks looking to sell meals in the region. […]
As the caregiver for her 25-year-old autistic son, the opportunities to make a flexible income at home are rare for Blackmon. “If you’re caring for someone with special needs, it’s hard to get a job,” she says, adding, “what I get from the government … is barely enough to pay the bills.”
Operating a home kitchen also offers a sense of meaning. “Socially, this has lifted me up and put me back into the world of adult relationships,” she says. “I cook a meal, people give me a good review, and I have a positive conversation with them. I’ve even made friends.”
The article explains how many home cooks have seen a huge surge in business during the last few months as people crave delicious, prepared food that saves them a trip to the grocery store and is made by neighbors they trust. The California law, which certifies Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations, or MEHKOs, allows home businesses to operate legally and with the confidence that comes from regular health and safety checks:
The new law allows MEHKOs’ foods to be delivered, picked up, or even eaten in the cook’s own home, effectively turning it into a tiny, community-oriented restaurant. MEKHO operators can only serve a maximum of 30 meals a day, for a total of 60 meals a week, garnering no more than $50,000 dollars in gross annual sales.
Home cooks can choose to market and sell their food on their own, or via an AirBnB-like marketplace such as Foodnome, Shef, or DishDivvy. The organizations assist home cooks in procuring their MEHKO permits and guide them through the process of creating an online menu.
Unfortunately, the California law that permits these home businesses needs to be adopted by individual counties in order for home cooks to be able to operate, and so far only a few counties have adopted it.
Laws like this one just make sense and should be the norm in any town that wants to grow more financially strong. They allow for small-scale businesses that use existing space (a home kitchen) and don’t require a large amount of overhead to get off the ground. These businesses get food to hungry people and enable business owners to begin building prosperity in their community.
Rachel Quednau serves as Program Director at Strong Towns. Trained in dialogue facilitation and mediation, she is devoted to building understanding across lines of difference. Previously, Rachel worked for several organizations fighting to end homelessness and promote safe, affordable housing at the federal and local levels. Rachel also served as Content Manager for Strong Towns from 2015-2018. A native Minnesotan and honorary Wisconsinite, Rachel received a Masters in Religion, Ethics, and Politics from Harvard Divinity School and a Certificate in Conflict Transformation from the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium, both in 2020. She currently lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her husband and young son. One of her favorite ways to get to know a new city is by going for a walk in it.