Law expanding West Virginia’s cottage food industry takes effect June 12

Beginning soon, West Virginia’s cottage food producers will have more options about what they can make and sell. 

Senate Bill 44, which expands the state’s existing cottage food program, takes effect June 12. State lawmakers approved the bill during the 2025 regular legislative session.

Under existing laws, people can make and sell “not potentially hazardous” foods from their home. 

The new law will allow producers to sell “potentially hazardous” foods, including those that are acidified, pickled or fermented, and foods that are time and temperature-controlled, according to Amie Minor-Richard, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture. 

Selling grade A dairy and meat products are still prohibited under the bill, she said. 

People who sell “potentially hazardous” foods will be required to have a kitchen inspection, permit, food safety or food handlers training, and water testing if they’re not using a municipal water source. The same rules apply to people who make and sell food at farmers markets, she said.

“We wanted to align with our farmers market rules so that we did not de-incentivize our farmers markets in (West Virginia),” Minor-Richard wrote in an email to West Virginia Watch. “They are so very important to our farmers and ranchers in the state to sell their farm products.”

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Patricia Rucker, R-Jefferson. The legislation was supported by the Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based public interest law firm aimed at “defending food freedom and the right to earn an honest living.”

“IJ has been advocating for food freedom in West Virginia for several years and was the main supporter of SB 44,” Sydney Travis, activism coordinator for the law firm, wrote in an email to West Virginia Watch. 

“This year, we organized a grassroots coalition of over 100 homemade food producers across West Virginia, helping them share their stories with lawmakers about why SB 44 was so important to them,” she said. “We were delighted to partner with Sen. Rucker and her colleagues to garner legislative support for the bill, and look forward to working with stakeholders over the summer to prepare a bill for next year that goes even further.” 

Rucker said the introduced version of the bill would have allowed some meat products to be sold as cottage foods, but that provision didn’t make it to the final version of the bill. Rucker said she’ll try to pass that part of the bill in upcoming legislative sessions. 

“It’s definitely something that consumers want,” Rucker said. “All those busy moms, they would love to be able to buy something that helps them give their families a fresh cooked meal, and obviously we have folks who were asking me to do that. They want to be able to provide that. 

“So I am hoping to work on it,” she said. “And I think that the Department of Agriculture did have concerns, so I have to work with them to figure out how I can get it done.”

Beth Pierce is the owner of Beth’s Baking and Gifts, which she operates from her home in Mason, West Virginia. She started the business making shelf-stable baked goods after retiring from her career at Ohio University. 

“I was home, and it didn’t take me very long to figure out I needed to stay active,” Pierce said. “…So I started baking — skills that I had learned through 4-H over the years, (and baking) for my family. I grew up on a farm, so I kind of got back to my roots and back to my grandmother’s recipes and started baking. And it’s really taken off.”

A grandmother of four, Pierce said operating a cottage food business gives her the flexibility to work and also help out watching her granddaughters after school. It also helps offset the cost of her health insurance, she said. 

With the new legislation taking effect, Pierce hopes to start selling temperature-controlled foods like pies and cherry-filled pastries. 

The Department of Agriculture is working developing the new rules, application process, safety standards, and labeling requirements for the program. A spokeswoman for the department said they plan on filing the rules by the end of the month.

“I’m really excited,” Pierce said. “I have some really good recipes from my grandmother… we’ll have to see what the guidelines are.” 

Pierce said the expanded program will allow West Virginia to be more competitive with other states in the country. 

“We live in a rural area, so we need to take advantage of what we do have,” she said. “And we’ve got in West Virginia such a legacy. I think it’ll strengthen our local economy, because it’s going to keep money circulating within our community, because the people that order off of me are friends, neighbors.”

She’s hopeful that selling more products will allow her to grow her business enough to hire her daughter-in-law, who’s also interested in having more flexibility in her work schedule. 

For Rucker, the bill’s sponsor, Senate Bill 44 is a way to help local businesses and entrepreneurs and allow people to experience locally made foods.  

“This is a great way to help protect our farms in West Virginia, and it’s also a great way to encourage folks to start their own businesses.”