County Supervisors OK Home Kitchen Policy Addition

SAN DIEGO, CA —The Board of Supervisors voted 3-0 Wednesday to amend an ordinance that allows micro-enterprise home kitchen operations in San Diego County.

In effect since Jan. 5, the ordinance covers operating policies, including how many meals can be prepared per day, fees and cottage food operations, and allows operators to sell food using up to two permitted carts.

The state Department of Public Health defines a micro-enterprise home kitchen, or MEHKO, as a food facility operated by residents in a private home, "where food is stored, handled and prepared, and may be served to consumers."

Last December, the board voted 4-0 in favor of the ordinance, as part of a second reading.

According to information on Wednesday's meeting agenda, that ordinance "inadvertently did not include" two options based on current state law:

-- increasing the number of meals that a MEHKO cart can serve, now at 80 meals per day and no more than 200 per week; and
-- an increase in maximum gross annual sales for a MEHKO cart business, from $100,000 to $150,000 annually.

According to the county, cottage food operations are low-risk food products not requiring refrigeration -- such as bread, pie or dried food -- that are made in home kitchens and sold to consumers.

During their Nov. 8 meeting, supervisors advanced the ordinance for a final vote after hearing a pilot program update and positive feedback from home-kitchen entrepreneurs.

On Wednesday, Supervisors Monica Montgomery Steppe and Nora Vargas praised the home-kitchen industry.

Montgomery Steppe described MEHKOs as a workforce-development opportunity, while Vargas mentioned that some operators now have enough resources to open a brick-and-mortar location.

In January 2022, the board approved a two-year pilot program for MEHKOs, which advocates say have benefits such as:

-- regulating unsafe private kitchen practices that could cause food- borne illness;
-- promoting "food justice" in communities lacking access to healthy and affordable food options; and
-- enabling home cooks (who are mostly women, immigrants and people of color) to use their skills and generate income.

Supervisor Joel Anderson was absent from Wednesday's meeting, while Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer was not present when the board voted.

— City News Service