Livingston Mulls Allowing Cottage Food Sales After State Approves Permits

LIVINGSTON, NJ — The Livingston Council — responding to new state Health Department regulations allowing home bakers to sell food from their residences — placed an item on the council agenda this week to allow the sales in town.

In October, New Jersey allowed for permits to be issued for home bakers.

"New Jersey historically prohibited the sale of home baked goods but has now joined other states in allowing cottage food operations," the state noted in October. "The Department has been working on this issue for some time and carefully balanced allowing home bakers to operate small businesses while instituting appropriate safeguards."

Residents wanting to sell certain items must get a Cottage Food Operator permit from the state.

Livingston's Planning Board chairman said thusfar, the state had allowed more than 404 permits.

Two Livingston residents have gotten state permits and another is interested, the Planning Board chairman said in a letter to the council.

Acceptable items include jams, dried pasta, roasted coffee, and more.

The proposed ordinance allows food sales from homes provided certain rules are met, such as not posting signs for the business, and not causing noise that adversely affects a neighbor.

See the full agenda here.

For Agendas And More Information:

• Meeting dates are on the township calendar on the homepage of the website livingstonnj.org.
• You can find the Agendas & Minutes button (look for the sheet of paper icon) in the green bar on the homepage. The agenda is posted before the meeting.
• For more information on Livingston’s Township Council, visit livingstonnj.org/Council

Be the first to know what's happening in your neighborhood. Sign up to get breaking news alerts in Livingston and a free daily 6 a.m. newsletter each morning with local news. Sign up with your zip code here and you'll get an email asking for your preferences.

Get a free morning newsletter with news in Livingston: https://patch.com/subscribe