Since 2011, the cottage food law has clearly stated that cottage food operations are not food establishments and that they may not be regulated by a local health department. Recently, some health departments around Texas have been attempting to require cottage food producers to buy a “Temporary Food Establishment” permit to sell at certain venues […]

Our newest video is a profile of Joanna’s Farm, a small sustainable homestead in Kyle, Texas. Joanna raises chicken for eggs and meat, and also teaches classes on how to process your own chicken. She discusses how her childhood in Poland influenced her views on food and self-sufficiency, and why she believes that everyone should

We are very pleased to announce the launch of our new YouTube Channel, which will feature content promoting issues of home independence like backyard chickens, gardens, and cottage foods! Our first video is about the top 10 reasons to keep backyard chickens – and some of them might surprise you! It really helps our channel,

Beginning on Tuesday February 15, Homemade Texas will be hosting bi-weekly Zoom sessions exclusively for members. Feel free to “drop in” any time between 7pm and 8pm every first and third Tuesday — this is an informal event with no registration required. Ask questions, give suggestions, and just let us know what’s important to you

Massachusetts is facing an unprecedented egg shortage if a 2016 ballot measure intended to promote animal welfare becomes law on January 1, 2022. Voters in 2016 voted on the measure which requires that eggs sold in Massachusetts come from hens with at least 1.5 square feet of floor space. The U.S. standard for factory-farmed poultry

Did you know that from 2011 to 2019, doughnuts were allowed as a cottage food, but only if they were baked? It’s true! Due to a quirk in tax statute, “doughnuts” were already defined as a baked good before the cottage food law existed. For simplicity’s sake, this definition of “baked goods” was used in

On November 2, 2021, Maine voters by a wide margin approved the nation’s first “Right to Food” constitutional amendment. The amendment states, in part: “Right to food.  All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food, including the right to save and exchange seeds, and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and

September 1, 2021 – Kelley Masters, founder of the Texas cottage food law movement and local foods proponent since 2007, has announced the formation of Homemade Texas, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to supporting home independence and entrepreneurship. Homemade Texas will give homemakers, homesteaders, and entrepreneurs a presence and voice in Texas policy making. The