To: The Illinois State House, The Illinois State Senate, and Governor J.B. Pritzker
Amend Illinois Cottage Food Law to allow more direct sales of homemade foods
Stop restricting Illinois residents like me from buying and selling homemade foods from the safety and convenience of our own homes.
Why is this important?
Years ago, I started decorating cakes. And because of a recently passed law in my home state of Illinois, I can now sell my cakes at the Farmers Market to make some money while also watching my grandkids three days a week. This is wonderful!
But surprisingly, I am prohibited from handing the very same buttercream-topped cake to someone at the front door. The cake is the same cake yet selling it from the controlled environment of my home is not legal while selling it in conditions that are often less than ideal – like a hot, dusty and buggy Farmers Market in the summer – is perfectly fine.
I want Illinois legislators to expand the laws around Cottage Foods (foods made at home) so that home cooks like me can sell the food we make more easily and safely. Being able to do so would mean more financial independence and stability for families like mine because these are skills and resources I already have and can make use of right at home. And it could mean more money for the state, too, through certification fees and licensing.
Most importantly, people all over Illinois would be able to buy foods made by someone they know, and that they know were made with great care. They would know their purchase was helping support local families, too, and the state.
Please sign my petition and tell Illinois's legislators to expand the overly restrictive Cottage Food Laws to better support Illinois home cooks like me.
But surprisingly, I am prohibited from handing the very same buttercream-topped cake to someone at the front door. The cake is the same cake yet selling it from the controlled environment of my home is not legal while selling it in conditions that are often less than ideal – like a hot, dusty and buggy Farmers Market in the summer – is perfectly fine.
I want Illinois legislators to expand the laws around Cottage Foods (foods made at home) so that home cooks like me can sell the food we make more easily and safely. Being able to do so would mean more financial independence and stability for families like mine because these are skills and resources I already have and can make use of right at home. And it could mean more money for the state, too, through certification fees and licensing.
Most importantly, people all over Illinois would be able to buy foods made by someone they know, and that they know were made with great care. They would know their purchase was helping support local families, too, and the state.
Please sign my petition and tell Illinois's legislators to expand the overly restrictive Cottage Food Laws to better support Illinois home cooks like me.