Home-Based Food Operations

Microenterprise Home Kitchen and Cottage Food Operations

Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) are a way for Solano County residents to offer their freshly made meals for sale within the community. Learn more in the resources below!

MEKHO 101 Workshop (English)

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MEHKO 101 (En Espanol)

Frequently Asked Questions

Learn more in this FAQ sheet here

Upcoming

MEHKO Webinars

MEHKO 101 webinars from Cook Alliance will cover the basics of the MEHKO program and is a great entry point for anyone interested in starting a home-based food business. Register at the links below.

Upcoming

Kitchen Workshops for MEHKO Entrepreneurs

In this hands-on kitchen workshop, we’ll cover essential skills and resources to help you succeed with a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation, including knife skills; safety & sanitation; food storage; menu planning; sourcing local food; resources from SBDC (Small Business Development Center); and we’ll cook a simple recipe for dinner!

Admission is free. Priority will be given to those who attended the MEHKO 101 webinar. Space is limited! Register at the links below.

Cottage Food Production for Small Farms Workshop

This workshop is co-hosted by UC Cooperative Extension and the UC Master Food Preservers of Sacramento County. Speakers include J Jordan of Brown Rice Bakery and Jon Kupkowski of The ReFarmery talking about running cottage food operations, and Lucía Plumb-Reyes of Moonbelly Bakery and Nova Wetherwax of the Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op will share a little about product marketing. The first part of the day will be presentations about licensing and profitability, followed by a lunch and hands-on demonstrations with Master Food Preservers covering techniques related to dried fruit and vegetables; jams and jellies; and dried mixes.

Slide Presentations

Click on the images below to access the slides from the above presentations

Key Partners & Resources

 

Solano County Environmental Health Division

COOK Alliance

Solano-Napa Small Business Development Center

 

Learn More Here

This program and resources page is funded through the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. MEHKO education offered in partnership with COOK Alliance and Solano County Department of Resource Management.