Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

¡Hay Comida En La Casa! - There Is Food At Home!, Gabriela Camacho

Pomona Senior Theses

Implemented in 2019, AB 626 created a new category in the California Retail Food Code known as a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO). MEHKOs are restaurants operated from private homes that allow the preparation and sale of meals that were previously illegal under state law. Californians were previously limited to cottage food laws which restrict home-cooked food production to non-perishable foods like baked goods. My thesis analyzes the progression of homemade food laws and how they impact home cooks. Additionally, many MEHKO owners and home cooks are immigrants, low-income individuals, or belong to BIPOC communities, groups that have traditionally faced …