Growing a Home-Based Food Business (Aug. 18)
Do you run a business making food products from home or are you considering it? Are you currently operating under Cottage Food Law or thinking about expanding beyond your kitchen? There are new changes that you need to know about.
Join us Tuesday, August 18 (6-8pm) at the Sedalia Center in Bedford County, for a community potluck and an informative session by SBDC* Food & Beverage Advisor Maria Niechwiadowicz on Virginia’s rules for home-based food production. With important changes to Cottage Food Law taking effect this past July, this presentation will walk you through what’s new, what it means for your business, and how to stay compliant. All updates and changes will be covered in detail during the talk. We’ll also explore practical steps to help you grow your business into something bigger. Come ready to take notes and bring your questions!
*Small Business Development Center (Lynchburg, VA)
This is a great event for anyone who has a home-based food business, is starting one, or considering starting one.
- A healthy dish to share (it’s a potluck!).
- Your own dishware.
- Your own drink.
- A friend (of course)!
- Something to take notes with.
Sedalia Center
1108 Sedalia School Road Big Island VA, 24526
(scroll down for Google Maps link).
We will be meeting in the Blue Room, which is the large community room nearest to the solar panels.
Tuesday, August 18 (6-8pm).
FREE! This is a free event but consider donating on our website to help us keep these events free to everyone!
About Your Instructor
Maria Niechwiadowicz serves as the Food & Beverage Advisor at the Small Business Development Center – Lynchburg Region. Her experience ranges from managing share-used commercial kitchen spaces to selling products at farmer’s markets, working as a professional pastry chef to managing business operations. She has led launches for two different bakeries in Virginia, most recently The Flour District in Lynchburg, and has worked with both the Virginia Department of Health and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Sciences.
When she is not at SBDC, she is running the children and youth program at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) or out in the backyard or the woods with her 2-year-old daughter and her dog!