Increasing Value-added Product Sales through Cottage Food Bakery Products Produced in Home Kitchens

Project Overview

FNC18-1130
Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2018: $22,333.00
Projected End Date: 08/28/2020
Grant Recipient: Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B
Region: North Central
State: Wisconsin
Project Coordinator:
Lisa Kivirist
Email
Inn Serendipity Farm and B&B

Information Products

Commodities

Not commodity specific

Practices

  • Education and Training: display, farmer to farmer, focus group, networking, workshop
  • Farm Business Management: business planning, farmers' markets/farm stands, new enterprise development, value added
  • Sustainable Communities: local and regional food systems, new business opportunities

    Proposal summary:

    Problem: The good news is that almost every state now has a bakery cottage food law, legislation that allows non-hazardous baked goods to be produced in a home kitchen for direct-to-consumer sale. However, while cottage food offers opportunity for farmers to diversify into value-added products; no resources exist to support farmers in producing baked goods that look professional and utilize ingredients grown on the farm. It’s easy to bring chocolate chip cookies to market, but that product doesn’t add value to what we farmers are growing.

    Additionally, as farmers bring small batches to market, the packaging and product display tends to look more like a “bake sale” with baggies and plastic wrap rather than something one would expect from a real bakery.

     

    Solution: This project creates a toolkit of resources for farmers to create baked goods in their home kitchen that utilize farm raised ingredients and are displayed in a professional manner, resulting in diversified sales leading to economic vitality. By using produce in baked goods, particularly blemished product, we keep more land in sustainable, ecologically sound production. Additionally, as cottage food products are sold directly to customers, such transactions enhance farmer quality of life by building healthy community connections.

    Project objectives from proposal:

    This project supports farmers diversifying to include small-batch homemade baked goods sales using their farm- raised product through the following:

    1. Develop a Resource Toolkit
    • 30 non-hazardous recipes using farm produce
    • 4 Non-hazardous frosting recipes
    • Packaging & display ideas

    2. Create & host two trainings

    • Farmer workshop
    • Webinar format (for Midwest & national access)

    3. Share findings via outreach

    • Workshops at 2019 National Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference, Wisconsin Farmers Union Convention
    • Outreach via partner groups farmer team is involved with, including MOSES, Renewing the Countryside, Farmers Union, Coops,
    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.