LOS ANGELES, CA – Home cooks who serve food to the public will soon get a permit as part of a new program launched in Los Angeles County on Monday.
The county’s Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation, or MEHKO, program, allows residents to operate catering facilities from their homes or private kitchens to create what county officials call a “mini restaurant.”
The permits, which are open for registration since Monday, are expected to be issued beginning Nov. 1. If approved, the resident will be able to store, handle, prepare and serve food in their home, as approved by California Health and Safety. Code.
“MEHKOs represent an important economic vehicle for citizens of the business community – especially women, immigrants, and communities of color – to create new opportunities in the formal economy,” Supervisor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement. “The MEHKO program is a step forward in allowing home kitchens to operate legally and safely, enabling countless people to turn their passion for cooking into successful businesses.
The Board of Supervisors in May passed legislation starting the program, which requires business owners to pay an application fee of $597 and an annual health permit fee of $347.
The program includes several rules:
- Businesses can only have one full-time equivalent employee, excluding family members or household members.
- Employees need a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate.
- Anyone involved in the business must have a Food Handler Card Certificate.
- Food needs to be prepared, cooked and served or delivered on the same day it is prepared.
- Businesses cannot sell more than 30 meals a day or 90 meals a week, for a total of $100,000 a year.
- Selling food at other places is not allowed.
- Businesses may not use third-party delivery apps like Uber Eats, except as provided in the California Health & Safety Code.
- Businesses may not serve alcohol or alcoholic beverages without a valid license.
- Businesses are not licensed to do food business.
The committee also approved a $600,000 grant program that will give up to 1,000 eligible applicants a one-time 100 percent down payment of $597,000. Eligibility is limited to new MEHKOs applicants with an annual income of less than $50,000.
The report will affect businesses throughout the state, except for those in Long Beach, Pasadena and Vernon, which are overseen by those cities’ health departments.
Under this agreement, MEHKO may also be authorized to operate as a commissary for up to two food carts, or Compact Mobile Food Operations. In such cases, the kitchens will be limited to 80 meals a day and no more than 200 meals a week. The total sales of MEHKO acting as a commissary will be $150,000.
“Our Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operations ordinance allows LA County to join the state in creating a pathway for undocumented cooks to be licensed and builds on our efforts to provide safe havens for residents and brick-and-mortar businesses, while helping thousands of street vendors and home cooks who benefit from our local economy,” Supervisor Holly Mitchell said in a statement. .
The Department of Public Health’s Environmental Health Division will authorize and conduct annual inspections and investigate complaints.
“Through the growth of MEHKOs, we try to empower the owners of food businesses with the skills and resources necessary to increase the knowledge of food security while serving people,” Barbara Ferrer, director of DPH, said in a statement.
Applications are available online.
City News Service provided this report.
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