The 2022 Illinois Cottage Food Guide is now available to help navigate the state’s new law governing home-based food production.

The guide breaks down the new legislation that went into effect in January, as well as provides resources for starting a home-based business that range from pre-formatted labels to setting up a business plan.

“With changes to the cottage food legislation folks really were looking for help navigating it,” said Molly Pickering, deputy director for the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, which lobbied for the Home-to-Market Act.

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“This guide gives them a resource outlining what  can make, when and where you can sell it. It mostly focuses on how to navigate the law, but also we’ve put in resources that people asked for from several previous iterations (of the guide).”

The alliance worked with the Illinois Department of Public Health and local health departments in compiling the guide.

A printable version is available on the alliance’s website at www.ilstewards.org under the resources tab.