Stop Shutting Down Home Cooks!
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
The Short Story
What's Happening
- Alameda County has been shutting down community-based food pop-ups run by chefs of color who are trying to bridge income during this pandemic
- In the meantime, the state of California legalized home cooked food sales last year, and the option to begin issuing permits has been sitting on the Supervisors' desks for the past year.
Why It Matters
- Alameda County chose to shut down POC-owned, community-supported businesses instead of opting into permits that are already legal at the state level. This feels inconsistent with our the mutual aid and resiliency values that are keeping our communities afloat
- We're asking Alameda County to opt-into a law that's already working in other Counties, rather than shutting down communities who are just trying to make it through this catastrophic year
The Longer Version
A New Law *Already* Legalized Home Cooked Food Sales
The California State Legislature unanimously passed the Homemade Food Operations Act (AB 626)— the first law permitting home cooked food sales in the United States! With a Microenterprise Home Kitchen (MEHKO) permit, cooks can now sell prepared meals and other foods directly from their home kitchens, up to $50,000 per year. The total cost of starting a MEHKO will be under $1000.
This new law provides a groundbreaking, low-barrier opportunity for home cooks to start a small food business. It's also the next phase of the local food movement and healthy, affordable food access.
However, our County must Opt-in
Alameda County's Board of Supervisors must vote to begin issuing permits to home cooks. Please let our elected officials know that we want home cook permits by signing this petition! You can visit our website for more ways to take action.
The Need is More Urgent Than Ever
2020 has been a catastrophic year - particularly for marginalized communities that were already struggling before the covid pandemic.
2020 has also laid bare the support systems that really matter - spotlighting “essential work” and mutual aid that have kept folks afloat when “business as usual” has stopped.
Amidst all of the catastrophe, we've been hearing from home cooks everyday and seeing a surge in sales of home cooked meals in Alameda County. What we're hearing:
- People have lost jobs and are looking to bridge income gaps - this has been particularly urgent due to layoffs in the food, hospitality, and domestic work industries
- People are changing the way they feed their families - big-company delivery models are outcompeting small businesses, but residents want ways to support local producers
- People are looking for downsized public spaces - social distancing concerns are keeping many people away from commercial establishments, but small-scale outdoor is appealing.
Home cooked food sales are an urgent response to this ongoing crisis. Unfortunately, they remain illegal until Alameda County opts-into AB 626 and begins permitting these operations.
Our elected officials have a high-stakes choice to make:
1.) Continue criminalizing marginalized communities and laid-off workers trying to survive this unprecedented economic and social crisis
OR
2.) Take leadership by becoming the second county in CA to begin offering MEHKO permits and begin the hard work of relief & recovery in our local communities
About the C.O.O.K. Alliance:
We’re the COOK Alliance: a coalition of immigrants, stay at home parents, community builders, educators, activists, policy makers, technologists, and home cooks.
We’ve been working to advocate for the recognition of home cooking as dignified and socially invaluable work since 2014. We’ve legalized the sale of home cooked food by passing two California laws and have helped thousands of cooks make money serving their neighbors by building the largest platform for entrepreneurial home cooks.
More than who we are, or what we’ve done, is what we represent: A plate kept warm, a “Dinner’s ready!” shouted up the stairs, a last bite offered up lovingly. We represent the people and the moments of care, where we feel less lonely and more connected in this life.
Petition by
To:
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
From:
[Your Name]
We are writing to encourage you to take leadership and become one of the first counties in California to opt into AB 626, the Homemade Food Operations Act. This new law allows cooks to apply for a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation permit (MEHKO permit) to sell food made in their home kitchen.
Home food microenterprises will help build healthy, resilient communities and create economic opportunities for the people that need them most. Many cooks in underserved communities— primarily women, immigrants, and people of color— are already selling food informally to generate extra income or incubate a new food enterprises. Without fear of criminalization, home cooks will be able to formalize their businesses, dignify their work, and openly access training and education.
This permit also improves healthy affordable food access in our County (especially in food deserts) and protects consumers. To get a permit, home kitchens must be inspected by health inspectors and cooks must be trained to follow important health, training, and sanitation standards just like food trucks and restaurants.
For these reasons, I support the implementation of AB 626, Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations, in our County. Thank you for your leadership in bringing this opportunity to cooks and our communities!