*SAMPLE TEXT TO YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS*
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Dear [State Legislator],
Please support our state’s “cottage food” entrepreneurs, the bakers and chefs who make homemade foods in their own kitchens for their local communities.
Cottage food is safe. Critics who talk about the risk of food-borne illness give hypothetical examples of what could go wrong because real-world cases are rare or nonexistent. There has never been an outbreak of foodborne illness from food sold under a cottage food law–even in California, a state with an economy bigger than most countries that has one of the most expansive laws.
Cottage food is local. When neighbors trade with neighbors, money stays in the local economy.
Cottage food is transparent. People who buy from a cottage food producer know what they get. If they have questions about ingredients, sourcing or safety, they can ask.
Cottage food creates jobs. Within the first five years of Wyoming’s Food Freedom Law, the number of farmers’ markets in the state—a proxy used to measure homemade food businesses—soared by nearly 70%.
Cottage food empowers women. Most cottage food producers are women, and many live in rural areas with limited economic opportunity.
Cottage food expands consumer choice. Some stores simply don’t sell what you want. This is especially true if you have a gluten-free, peanut-free, halal, kosher or vegan diet. Cottage food fills market gaps, giving consumers more options.
For information about how our state’s cottage food law could be improved, please contact the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and the Institute for Justice Food Freedom Initiative.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
[Your Name]