It might soon get a little easier for people selling things like baked goods, jams, jellies and fermented food in Anchorage.
The municipal health department is proposing a lower fee for so-called “cottage foods,” which are typically sold by vendors at markets or other direct-to-consumer settings.
An ordinance before the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday would lower the fee from $310 to just $50.
DeeAnn Fetko, deputy director of the health department, explained the change is intended to help fill a demand.
“The cottage food industry is a growing industry, as you see by farmers markets increasing, and folks are very interested in buying foods directly from the producers,” Fetko said.
Fetko said reducing the fee is not expected to hurt the department’s funding for overseeing the food industry.
“It’s not taking away from our ability to provide food safety services in Anchorage,” Fetko said. “This is a very minimal amount of funding that we’re talking about under this ordinance.”
Cutting the fee does not appear to be controversial, Fetko said, as she has heard only support for lowering it. She also said it is just one part of a broader effort to make it easier to produce local, value-added food items.
Casey Grove is host of Alaska News Nightly, a general assignment reporter and an editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach him atcgrove@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Caseyhere.
