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District 11 House Representative Derrel Fincher recently filed the Homemade Food Act that will be considered when the second session of the 57th Legislature convenes in February.

Representative Fincher added that a constituent named Ash Winfield in Collinsville, who owns Farm Hippie Farmers Market, is the reason he filed this legislation. He said Winfield was working on selling homemade foods that were produced by local farmers and families as part of his organization.

Winfield believed he was a "farmers market," but it turns out that he was not. Rep. Fincher said Winfield could not do third party sales, which means, instead of the farmer or whoever made the food that was there, he could not sell the food, even though he knew the people who made the food.

When looking further into the matter, Rep. Fincher said he found out this is a problem all across the state. He said the legislation he filed is House Bill 3420, and it would replace the Home Baking Act and would expand venues and conditions in which homemade foods can be sold.

Striking the middle ground is what Rep. Fincher is trying to do with the Homemade Food Act. He said small business owner's like Winfield will have the opportunity to produce more food, and to produce different types of foods that they could not sell before without actually having to be present while a third party sold the product.

Senator and Representatives came to Rep. Fincher after Winfield did to talk to him about the issue they are trying to make right. Rep. Fincher said he researched the Home Baking Act and how it could be ratified. He said he looked into what it means to have home baked foods, he looked into what other states are doing in the United States, and he looked into the National Conference of State Legislators that pulls information together for representatives when the have an inquiry.

In Edmond, something similar happened that happened to Winfield in Collinsville. The organization in Edmond wanted to offer good, homemade foods to everyone. They went on to do what they could to organize a co-op, but that restricted them on  who they could sell to. Rep. Fincher said they, as well as other farmers and growers, were very interested in the Homemade Food Act that he was filing. He said it was almost as if it was a huge relief for them

One thing to remember when looking at the history of this topic, Rep. Fincher said when health departments previously came about, they clamped down on what people could sell because they had a concern about products that could make people ill. He said when farmers markets came about, that allowed someone who made a baked good or homemade product (i.e. jams or jellies) to sell those goods.

Products can also be sold online. But Rep. Fincher said the problem is they have to personally see you deliver the goods. He said the idea behind it is that if you can see the person when the transaction is being made, you can make the judgment as to whether or not you trust the person that has made the food because small quantiles of food are being discussed, not large quantities.

Rep. Fincher said this still does not allow the growers to sell their food without having to get into the commercial aspect of sales. He said commercial kitchens are expensive, and it requires a lot of permits to get to that level. In reality, these are small operations that need to be protected.

Again, the Homemade Food Act would replace the Home Baking Act and would expand venues and conditions in which homemade foods can be sold. Rep. Fincher said draft language was added to help honey producers.

Giving honey producers more venues they can sell their product in is a partial focus of the Homemade Food Act. This goes for third party sales as well, meaning the can sell the product without having to get a bunch of permits. Some of the foods like meat that are talked about are regulated by the Federal Government and would not be addressed by the Homemade Food Act.

Representative Fincher said if someone is producing honey, they are producing a safe product. He said they should be able to go out and offer the honey to more people.

This is something that Rep. Fincher wanted to do because it highlights small business in Oklahoma. The Homemade Food Act in general is aimed at continuing Oklahoma's farming spirit and tradition.

Pictured is the Bartlesville Area Farmers Market - Summer 2019.