Cottage Food: Opportunities & Lessons Learned from 5 Years of Operation in MT

Publication Date: January 26, 2021

AERO is working with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) – Food & Consumer Safety Section on a project to improve producers and registered sanitarians’ understanding of cottage food laws and to assemble a working group to draft changes to the administrative rule for the cottage food exemption.

This is a recording of a cottage food training held Tuesday, January 26, 2021 9:00am-2:30pm for registered cottage food operators, curious local food producers, and sanitarians, both registered and in training.

The workshop included the following presentations:

  1. MT Cottage Food Business: How this all got started
  2. Montana’s Food Laws & Rules: Cottage food & farmers’ markets
  3. Navigating COVID-19 Markets as a Cottage Food Operator
  4. Abundant Montana Directory: Your Connection to the Local Food Market
  5. Packaging: Alternatives to Petroleum-Based Plastics

MT Cottage Food Business: How this all got started

Jan Tusick

Montana's Food Laws & Rules: Cottage food & Farmers' markets

Nina Heinzinger, PhD, RS/REHS
Public Health Sanitarian, Food & Consumer Safety Section,

Navigating COVID-19 Markets as a Cottage Food Operator

Created by Kelsey Fiedler, MS, AERO

Presented by Lindsay Ganong, MS, RDN, AERO

Abundant Montana Directory: Your Connection to the Local Food Market

Lindsay Ganong, MS, RDN, AERO

Drew Shanafelt
Abundant Montana Director, AERO

Packaging: Alternatives to Petroleum-Based Plastics

Heidi Divdahl-Noyes
Chief EcoManiac, EcoMontana
Heather Babineau-Z
Owner & Operator, Whole and Nourished
Karl Johnson
Owner & Operator, YES Compost

Groups

  • Value-Added Producer Toolkit