08/11/2024
********WARNING, SUPER LONG POST*********
Any true followers know that this is just a hobby for me, my stress outlet is cooking/baking. I have a full time job as a service manager which pretty much means that I try to solve problems all week long and am often spoken to in not very nice ways, because people are tricky & can be mean. I have a family. We all know how stressful it can be to keep a household running. Even though you are an exhausted mess, you feel that you haven’t done enough. And what you did do, maybe wasn’t “right”.
For Jo, this is a tool. When we started What’s Cookin’ Mama, things were rough. She had a LOT of anxiety and things going on. This was a way for her to have an outlet, make a few dollars (she always receives a percentage of craft sale income, expenses excluded), and what proved to be an AMAZING tool for her to break out of her shell. The first year? She could hardly talk to people. Current status? She gets upset with me if I talk first. 🤣 Again, if you know us, this is HUGE. Jo is a beautifully unique girl who struggles with some things, social settings being a big one.
So, to those of you who have supported us, we thank you! As a mama, I can’t thank you enough! You have given me a way to take some of the stress off of my mind and heart. You have helped our daughter to develop some incredibly important life skills.
Now the real update. We seem to have picked up a follower who doesn’t love us & what we do. I received a certified letter, notifying me that we must cease and desist all operations, as we are not a licensed kitchen/food establishment. This is something that I have never been shy about listing or discussing. I have done my homework over the years. Lots of it. I was in the restaurant industry for many, many years. I ran a commercial kitchen with a small staff. I have been Serve Safe certified. There is something called the Cottage Food Law. If you sell less than $25,000 over the course of the year of non perishable items, you qualify. You do not need a licensed, commercial kitchen. We sold anything ‘perishable’ frozen. Frozen to the point of it needing several hours to thaw. I thought that we were ‘safe’, however, that is not the case. While I am very cautious to abide by all food safety rules/laws, because these meals are not prepared in a commercial kitchen and I post them for sale “as a business”, it is not legal. It was NEVER our intent to break any laws or to upset anyone by doing what we do. In my mind a business has a business model, a plan to make a profit. I choose to not keep close track of expenses, because I know that there really is no profit, and quite honestly, I don’t want to know how much money we lose, because we enjoy it. We crave it. We need it for ourselves.
This DOES NOT mean that What’s Cookin’, Mama is done. What it does mean is that we are temporarily shifting. If you need baked goods, jams, that sort of thing, we’re here for it!! I will be researching and evaluating what the take & bake meal situation looks like going forward. I could rent commercial kitchen space, but….that means a significant cost, which would have to increase prices, and that is not something that I like to do. I enjoy providing affordable, home cooked meals to busy families or people in need. It would mean trying to carve out time from an already hectic calendar to schedule time to pack up supplies and spend time in a commercial kitchen, then transport again. I do not WANT for this to be a “business”. When it’s no longer fun, but a chore….it doesn’t serve its purpose for us. We don’t need more stress in our lives. There will be a lot more researching and thinking about things in the near future, and we’ll keep you all updated.
Craft shows this fall? I’m not sure. Baked goods tend to be a very saturated market in craft shows now. We filled a void with the meals. It made us unique. The baked goods were just table dressing. 😅 So that is something we’ll have to consider. I will likely be changing the page eventually to a private group, but I will notify here before that happens.
If you’ve stuck with me this far, thank you! That was a lot to read. Again, THANK YOU to our true followers. Most of you are friends & family and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know. If the ‘silent observer’ is watching this page, as I believe they are, I’d like to thank you for your concern for public safety. I assure you, quality and safety have always been very important to us, and I apologize that our hobby caused distress. I wish that I had had the opportunity to discuss your concerns personally.
Take care everyone. I am an open book, please feel free to reach out with any questions. We’re happy to fill any needs/orders that we are able while following the guidelines of the Cottage Food Law. Thanks again for everything & stay tuned!
~Julie ❤️
