On Tuesday, February 24th the Nebraska legislature’s Agriculture committee will hold a hearing for LB558, also known as the Cottage Food Amendment, proposed by Sen. Rick Kolowski (District 31).

Click here to view a summary of the bill: LB558 Cottage Food Legislation Summary

The bill would allow for small-scale producers of non-potentially hazardous foods such as fruits, vegetables, jams, jellies, baked goods and other snacks, to sell those products directly to consumers.  These products are already legal to sell at farmers markets, but once the farmers market season is over, the producer/vendors have no outlet for their products.  Allowing for the direct sale of these foods to consumers, grocery stores and restaurants will open a new marketing opportunity for these producer/vendors to participate full-time in the local food economy.

If you are a producer/vendor who currently sells products at farmers markets, this bill is designed to help you increase your sales.  If you are an aspiring vendor, this bill may give you an opportunity to start a new business.  If you are a farmers market patron who would love to have all of the variety of local food options available at farmers markets year-round, then you would probably support this bill.  This type of legislation is common in many states.

If you would like to testify in favor of this bill, the hearing is on  Tuesday, February 24 at 1:30pm in State Capitol room 2102.

If you can’t make it to the hearing, you can contact the members of the Agriculture committee and let them know that you support LB558.

Contact information for the Agriculture Committee:

If you have any questions, please contact Anna Wishart, Legislative Aide to Senator Rick Kolowski: awishart@leg.ne.gov or (402) 471-2327.