Homemade Texas

10/14/2026

Creating accurate Texas cottage food labels just got easier!

Homemade Texas has upgraded our FREE Texas Cottage Food Label Wizard! This easy-to-use tool helps Texas cottage food producers create labels that comply with Texas Cottage Food Law, without the guesswork.

The upgraded Label Wizard includes:

- Live label previews as you enter your information
- Multiple Avery label templates
- Options to use your home address or DSHS license number
- Downloadable PDF and PNG labels
- Easy printing options

Whether you're starting a new cottage food business or updating your existing labels, our free tool makes the process simple.

Try the FREE Label Wizard here:
https://homemadetexas.org/label-wizard

Creating accurate Texas cottage food labels just got easier!Homem...

10/13/2026

The Fort Worth City Attorney has ordered a pause on all cottage food code enforcement actions while the City investigates.

10/13/2026

Verified Sellers- sorry for the late notice, 'tis been a busy few weeks. Our monthly Zoom call will be next Monday, October 19 at 7:00 p.m. Check your emails for the link, or just use last month's link, it is the same. I'm sure we will find something interesting to talk about. 😂

10/12/2026

On today's episode of Local Tyranny: Texas Edition: We started with a zoning issue and ended up with constitutional issues involving due process and this little thing you may have heard of called the First Amendment.

The Town of Providence Village is a Denton County community of roughly 12,500 residents. According to the Town's published budget, Providence Village has 16 full-time positions. FOUR of those positions, fully 25% of the Town's workforce, are dedicated to Code Compliance. That's one Code Compliance Officer for every 3000 residents, which is an eye-popping level of "local control".

On October 5, one of those officers, following up on an alleged complaint about a home-based business (Public Information Act request pending), drove past a residence at 5:45 IN THE MORNING. The officer reported seeing nothing outside the home and no illuminated sign visible from the street. So naturally, the Town issued a formal Notice of Violation, demanding that the property owners correct the alleged violation within ten days.

I'm sorry, correct WHAT?

The notice doesn't say. It reproduces ten different zoning restrictions on home occupations without identifying which one was supposedly violated. No allegation of excessive traffic, noise, nuisance conditions, customers coming and going, or merchandise being sold on the premises. Just a complaint, a 5:45 a.m. drive-by, and a violation notice demanding that somebody stop doing... something.

And here's another little gem: Providence Village has an ordinance that purports to prohibit home-based businesses from advertising through commercial communication media. Because apparently, telling people on the internet that you sell cake pops is a threat to civilization. Never mind that truthful advertising of a lawful business enjoys First Amendment protection. Never mind that the Town hasn't identified a single traffic problem associated with this business. Somehow this Town (and they're not the only one) thinks that because you have a home-based business, it gets to control what you say about that business.

I don't know, you guys. Homemade Texas is busier than a mouse in a cheese factory dealing with municipalities that seem determined to rid their neighborhoods of...

DUN DUN DUN... THE CAKE POP CARTS.

Of all the problems in the world. Of all the things local governments could be spending their time and resources addressing. The cake pop carts must go.

We spent 15 years working to establish and expand the Texas Cottage Food Law so ordinary Texans could earn a living making food in their own kitchens. The Texas Legislature has expressly prohibited municipalities from using zoning ordinances to ban cottage food production in homes. And yet here we are, spending our days reminding local governments that state law applies to them, too.

Homemade Texas has sent a letter. Again. We've requested that the Town withdraw this notice or explain exactly what ordinance was violated, what evidence supports that allegation, and what the property owners are supposed to do about it. We've also raised serious concerns about the lack of adequate notice and the constitutionality of the Town's restrictions on advertising lawful home-based businesses. Because apparently, in addition to reminding municipalities that the Texas Cottage Food Law exists, we now have to remind them that the United States Constitution does, too.

When I started this organization, I didn't know that standing between cottage food producers and municipal enforcement departments would become such a big part of our work. But here we are. And sometimes it feels like what they really want is for you to stop being resourceful. Stop painting outside the lines. Stop trying to make something of your own. Now go get a job at Walmart.

Well, no. I won't stand for that. I never will.

In a world of Providence Villages, be a Homemade Texas.

10/09/2026

A question recently came up because a local health inspector told a cottage food producer that she could NOT use a mini fridge to keep her TCS food cold at an event.

And we just have to say… whatchu talkin’ about, Willis?

Texas cottage food law requires TCS foods to be maintained at a safe temperature: below 41°F or above 135°F. And what better way to keep food refrigerated than… a refrigerator?

Cooler? ✅ Mini fridge? ✅ Another method that reliably keeps your food at the required temperature? ✅

The important thing is not what the cold-holding equipment looks like. The important thing is that the food stays at the temperature required by law.

Sometimes we hear stories from around the state that leave us scratching our heads a little. This is one of them. 😂 Keep your TCS foods at a safe temperature. Use equipment that gets the job done. Everybody calm down.

10/08/2026

Waxahachie Update: So Apparently the Affidavit Is “Suspended”

Back in July, Homemade Texas and the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance sent the City of Waxahachie a letter challenging its requirement that cottage food producers and vendors sign and notarize a City-created affidavit to participate in certain events. We explained why we believed the requirement violated state law, cited the applicable statutes, and offered to work with the City on a lawful alternative.

They didn't respond.

We followed up on August 10. Still no response.

So, because apparently this is how we have to communicate with local governments now, we filed yet. another. Public Information Act request. The City withheld some communications under attorney-client privilege, which they are legally entitled to do (dangit), but what they did produce tells a pretty interesting story.

July 27: We sent our letter, and City staff immediately began circulating it internally. Meanwhile, Mayor Pro Tem Travis Smith showed up in our Facebook comments to argue with us while repeatedly missing the actual issue. So while the City couldn't manage an actual response, one of its elected officials did find the time to debate us on Facebook, providing the interesting spectacle of an elected City official crashing out in the comments. Repeatedly.

August 3: City Manager Ricky Boyd called a meeting with staff regarding “Cottage Food Affidavit Meeting Notes.”

August 10: We followed up and again offered to discuss the issue. Jason Watson forwarded our email internally and wrote, “I will not take any action unless I've received direction.” Public Information Officer Alice Jauregui responded, “I don't think it's necessary to respond,” although she suggested that if Watson felt he needed to, he could tell us the City was reviewing its policies and would communicate any changes to the community.

He didn't.

August 25: Apparently some direction had arrived. Health Inspector Vanessa Muniz informed City staff that “the affidavits have been suspended.” When another employee asked whether cottage food vendors therefore needed to provide neither permits nor affidavits, Muniz confirmed: “Correct. If they are saying they are Cottage Law, there is no document that needs to be received from them.”

September 1: Watson put it even more plainly: “The affidavit requirement is currently suspended until we can get the better direction from the City attorney.”

Well! That seems relevant!

And that's where things apparently remain. More than a month later, nobody from the City has told us any of this.

So no, we're not declaring victory. “Suspended” isn't “rescinded.” We don't know what advice the City Attorney has given because those communications are privileged, and we don't know whether Waxahachie intends to bring the affidavit back.

What we DO know is that after we challenged the requirement, the issue traveled up the chain, the City Manager called a meeting, the City Attorney became involved, and the City stopped requiring the affidavit while it sought legal advice.

You know who they apparently didn't think needed to know? Us. Or the cottage food producers affected by the requirement.

That's the maddening part. Public officials don't have to agree with us. If they think we're wrong, tell us why. If they need legal advice, get legal advice. And if they suspend a requirement while they determine whether they have the authority to impose it, send a two-sentence email saying so. Their own Public Information Officer suggested doing exactly that.

Instead, we had to file a Public Information Act request to discover that the City had quietly suspended the requirement we were asking them to address.
So, Waxahachie cottage food producers: according to the City's own internal communications, the affidavit requirement is currently suspended pending direction from the City Attorney.

We'd still like an actual answer from the people whose salaries are paid by taxpayers. But at this point, we don't expect to get one without another Public Information Act request.

10/06/2026

Believe it or not, Homemade Texas does not go looking for trouble. We don't enjoy picking fights with local governments, and we certainly don't relish taking on a behemoth like Fort Worth. But when a city gets the law wrong and someone's livelihood is on the line, we show up for our members, even when that city has a population greater than the state of South Dakota.

So, in today's episode of "Local Tyranny, Texas-Style," a Fort Worth Code Compliance officer ordered a legal cottage food producer to “Stop operating a business from a residentially zoned property.” And just in case that wasn't enough, the notice warned that failure to comply could result in a fine of up to $2,000 for each day the property remains in violation.

Two. Thousand. Dollars. Per. Day.

For operating a legal cottage food business from her home.

That's not "we'd appreciate your cooperation." That's "comply or we will destroy you and don't even think about asking questions."

There is, however, one teensy little problem. Texas law specifically says Fort Worth cannot do that. And this isn't some new provision that everyone is still figuring out. It's been in the Texas Local Government Code since 2013:

“CERTAIN ZONING REGULATIONS PROHIBITED. A municipal zoning ordinance may not prohibit the use of a home for cottage food production operations.”

Texas Local Government Code § 211.032.

So here we are, thirteen years later, explaining to the 10th largest city in the United States that it cannot use residential zoning to prohibit the very thing the Legislature expressly said residential zoning cannot prohibit.

One can't help but wonder: is it Fort Worth's position that every cottage food producer in the city is in violation of its zoning code and must be shut down? Because if this notice accurately reflects the City's position, that's exactly where it leads. And that's... quite a position.

We've asked the City to withdraw the violation, confirm that this producer will not face further enforcement action for lawfully operating her cottage food business from her home, and make sure its staff know about § 211.032 before another cottage food producer gets one of these letters.

We'll let you know what they say.

10/05/2026

Come with me to Laredo! I had such a great time visiting MileOne for the Women Entrepreneurs Rock Series, talking Texas cottage food law, meeting some wonderful local cottage food vendors, and learning more about the new Made in Laredo™ quality certification program.

Laredo showed up for its small businesses, and the hospitality was incredible. Thanks for having me!


Lovely Cupcake Boutique
The Emma Rose Bakery https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591838126605knead (Instagram)

10/02/2026

Can you sell your cottage foods through DoorDash or Uber Eats? 🚗🍪

The problem isn’t taking the order online. Texas cottage food law allows internet sales. The catch is the delivery.

When a customer purchases cottage food online, the order must be personally delivered by the cottage food operator, an employee, or a member of the operator’s household. That means a DoorDash or Uber Eats driver can’t deliver it for you.

You can sell online. You just can’t outsource the delivery to a third-party delivery service.