Chef Gabe Gardner from Local First Arizona's Community Kitchen presents steps to starting or formalizing a food business in preparation for a Farmers Market.

1. Starting a Micro-
Food Business
Gabe Gardner
Director of Food Programs
Local First Arizona

2. Should You
Start a Farmers
Market or
Cottage-Based
Food Business?
• Is There a Community Need?
• What gap will you be filling, or need
will you address?
• Expanded Interest In Local Food Sourcing
• Benefits of Farmers Market:
• Customers not visiting your home
• Participate in local food community
• Businesses grow person to person by
word of mouth
• Benefits of Cottage Law:
• Ability to work from home
• Sell on your schedule
• Ability to control the scalability of
the business

3. Cottage Law
& Food
Safety
• Arizona Department of Health Services -
Cottage Law
• Program musts:
• Register for the program
• Food handler’s training
• Production guidelines
• Label requirements
• Approved products

4. Production
Guidelines
• When Preparing Food:
• Proper hand washing is an effective means to control the spread
of foodborne disease
• Limit bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. Use suitable
utensils or non-latex gloves. Wash your hands before putting on
clean gloves. Change gloves when they become soiled, torn,
after taking a break or starting a new task
• Keep non-employees (children, guests) and pets/animals out of
the prep area
• Segregate/separate all items associated with the food processing
operation from the residential items.
• Clean and sanitize preparation area before and after use.
• Before You Sell…
• Verify zoning restrictions with local city or county officials and
your insurance company to determine impacts of a home-based
business on homeowner's liability
• Check with your local city or county for information on business
licenses

5. Label
Requirements:
Cottage Industry
vs. Commercially
Prepared Foods

6. Foods
Approved For
Cottage Law
Production
• Fruit Jams and
Jellies
• Dry Mixes
• Dry Pasta
• Roasted Nuts
• Honey
• Cookies
• Breads and Sweet
Breads
• Cakes with Hard
Icings or Frostings
• Fruit Pies with Fruit
and Sugar Fillings
• Brownies and
Fudge
• Candies
• Donuts
• Roasted Coffee
Beans
• Tortillas
• Muffins
• Scones
• Popcorn, Kettle
Corn
• Tarts
• Dry Spice Mixes

7. Foods Not
Approved for
Cottage Law
• Foods Requiring
Refrigeration
• Salsas
• Sauces
• Fermented and
Pickled Foods
• Meat, Fish, and
Shellfish Products
• Beverages
• Acidified Food
Products
• Nut Butters
• Reduced-Oxygen
Packaged Products
• Pumpkin Pie, Sweet
Potato Pie, Pecan Pie
• Cheesecake
• Custard or Cream-
Style Pie, Meringue
Pie
• Tamales
• Butter and Spreads
• Pudding
• Cakes with custard
filling
• Dehydrated Fruits
and Vegetables
• Fillings, Frostings,
and Icings (including
ganache)

8. Foods Considered Potentially Hazardous
• Food is often considered potentially
hazardous because it contains
moisture, usually regarded as water
activity greater than 0.85, contains
protein, or is neutral to slightly acidic,
typically a pH of greater than 4.6.
• Meat, Poultry, Fish
• Shellfish and Crustaceans
• Eggs
• Milk and dairy products
• Baked potatoes
• Heat-treated plant food
(cooked rice, beans, or
vegetables)
• Certain synthetic
ingredients
• Mushrooms, raw sprouts,
cut melons, cut tomatoes,
cut leafy greens
• Tofu and soy protein
foods
• Untreated garlic and oil
mixtures
• Custards, puddings, cakes
with custard fillings,
meringues, cheesecake,
pumpkin, cream or custard
pies and other desserts
containing ingredients of
animal origin, should be
assumed to be potentially
hazardous

9. Licensing and
Permitting
• Requirements for each business differ based
on product, packaging, and heat or
refrigeration requirements
• Jarred salsa VS. shelf stable syrup VS.
fresh bread
• Most common permits for a farmers market
(Pinal County) set up are:
• Mobile Food Permit: $29 (paid annually)
• Pre-opening inspection for a mobile food
unit: $80
• Plan review fee: $185 truck or
trailer/$93 cart
• Temporary fee booth (one time event):
Free
• Recurring pop-up booths not allowed
• Application packet for permit
• Food Peddler’s Permit may be required

10. Food
Permitting in
Pinal County
• Pinal County follows the 2013 FDA Food Code
• Must complete Pinal County Permit Application
• Mobile Food operations must have a Commissary Agreement
stating a base of operations

11. Food Costing:
True Cost,
Consistency, &
Market Rate
• Costs of local food and the customer
base that follows and supports those
ideals
• Your product may cost more than
“traditional” sources
• Leverage your localness to
appeal to your clientele as an
alternative
• Local food places emphasis on
quality and attracts a certain type of
customer base
• Allows you to approach “true cost”
of food
• No subsidies
• Building value for your brand

12. Food Costing: True Cost, Consistency, Market
Rate, and Pricing
Pricing: raw food cost X 3 = starting price
• Labor- 30%
• Food- 30%
• Overhead-30%
• Profit- 10%
Market rate: what will the local market bear?
Typical foodservice operation

13. Other
Considerations
• Transactional Privilege Tax
• LLC, Sole Proprietor, S-Corp, Corporation
• Market fees
• Equipment investment
• Commissary kitchen needs
• Restaurant Start Up Boot Camp

14. THANK YOU!
• Gabe Gardner
• gabe@localfirstaz.com