Does anyone know how I might go about selling food out of my car or to local businesses? Do I need permits, licenses, etc? Also, any ideas on how I would keep food warm. I think that there are crockpots that are sold with a car adapter but not sure? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
Check with your local health department. Many states require you to have a kitchen zoned for commercial use and inspected, in order to sell commercially. I don't think ANY state will allow you to just sell cooked good, that need to maintain a certain temperature, from you car!! The only exception would be a food truck, but those are zoned for commercial use, and inspected by the health department.
I doubt you can do this legally, but you will need to check with your state.
There are "cottage food laws" in many states. These laws allow you to sell baked goods from your home, because the potential for food borne illness is low. Most do not allow selling food that require time or temperature control. The rules also limit how much money you can make. And in Texas, you are required to label things as made from your home kitchen. And you cannot sell those wares to retail stores or online.
Most likely, you would need to rent a commercial kitchen and rethink your method of keeping foods warm. There are many hot boxes available. I have done my own version with a heating pad and ice chest.
Google "how to start a food business in Michigan" and you'll find out what you need to know. The health department will also be able to guide you. But my experiences in Texas, that department is a bit burdened down and they won't spend much time with you to answer all you want or need to know.
Food prep and sales requirements vary state by state. Your best bet is to contact the local health department and ask about food handling requirements.
Go to www.michigan.gov to review licensing laws. You can also call your local county extension office to ask about your state's laws.
This varies wildly state to state. Here you can use a residential kitchen as long as it is properly equipped and passes inspection as a "clean" kitchen. It cannot be a space used by kids or traversed by pets.
Research Michigan's requirements and contact your local health department. Since these are bureaucracies, expect to need to spend some time on your research, and possibly to talk to many people and to sort out conflicting information.
You probably won't be able to legally sell hot foods out of your car.
I'm pretty sure you won't be able to sell out of your car. You'll need, at the least, a food truck that has proper sanitation, temperature control and monitoring capabilities, and probably a whole slew of other requirements. Start with your city's health department and go from there.
No clue about Michigan, but here it has to be cooked on an inspected, approved kitchen.
Call your health department or do some state specific searches on the Internet.
Seems Michigan has a Cottage Foods law but its very specific about what types of food are allowed. No foods that require the maintaining of a certain temp so I'm guessing anything in a crockpot would be a no go.
I found this for you:
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/homemade_food_products_and_t...
Call your local health department, or google the food safety laws in Michigan. You should be able to find your state's health code online, but it may be a bit confusing to try and sift through all of the regulations. Each health inspector and plan checker have different things they choose to focus on, so it can really vary.
Generally speaking, you can't sell food that was prepared in a residential kitchen. You would need to build a second kitchen to commercial standards, or otherwise rent space in a commercial kitchen where you would prepare the food. In terms of holding temperatures for food, your car would not be adequate. You'd need to rent a food truck with NSF-certified equipment/containers to hold the food at the proper temperatures.
That being said, there are a gazillion people all over California who sell all kinds of food to local businesses. For instance, every neighborhood has a guy who sells tamales door-to-door. I'm positive none of these guys have a health permit or a commercial kitchen - probably just a wife who is a great cook. (I love tamales and always buy a few dozen when our neighborhood guy comes around!) So if you're not running a huge enterprise, just looking to bring in a couple of dollars, you wouldn't want to put yourself on the health department's radar for that. If you're looking to make a business of it, then you'd need to go the route of a permit from the health department, a food truck, etc etc.
Laws vary from state to state - def check with your local agencies
As far as I know you cannot sell anything or donate anything that has been made in a non-certified health department inspected facility. So call your local health inspector to get the information from the horses mouth so to speak. The go from there.
Do not sell to businesses. Put your menu out to friends to sell at:
1. school lounge
2. neighborhood
3. churches
4. beauty shops
5. barber shops
Do it undercover.
I am a teacher and bought DOZENS of hot tamales from the Mexican parents who would tell their kids to tell the teachers that their mamas make tamales.
Good luck
You need to be licensed and certified by the Health Department. You have to adhere to cleanliness guidelines such as hair nets, gloves, special sanitizer for dishes and work areas. You also will not be able to allow anyone into your work area unles they have washed hands and hair nets. No sick people around the kitchen either, unless they wear a mask.
