A national organization that represents independent farmers and artisanal food producers is seeking an injunction to allow a home-based cook to continue to sell prepared meals.
The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund says Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services ran afoul of the law when it told Kenduskeag Kitchen last December that it must have a food establishment license, which would require a full commercial kitchen.
The Fund says that violates Maine’s right-to-food constitutional amendment, which voters approved in 2021, as well as the state’s Food Sovereignty Act, which allows local control of food requirements. The town of Kenduskeag has an ordinance that allows local regulation of direct producer-to-consumer transactions.
Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.