Community Food Producer
- As a registered Community Food Producer, consumers can be confident the food they are buying comes from an approved source and was grown using best management practices.
- As a registered Community Food Producer, the food is coming from an approved source which may be sold to restaurants and cottage food operators.
Yes. Agricultural products must be labeled with the name and address of the community food producer. If the agricultural product is being sold by the Community Food Producer on the site of production, conspicuous signage must be provided in lieu of a product label. At a minimum, the signage shall include the name and address of the Community Food Producer (Cal Code Section 114376(a)).
By gleaning products from agricultural operations that are meeting best management practices and have any required registrations/licenses, such as, but not limited to:
- Farms registered and in good compliance with the local Department of Agriculture
- Community Food Producers that meet all local registration and best management requirements
You may provide your customers with a copy of your registration. A list of registered Community Food Producers is also available on our website at ehs.sbcounty.gov.
Yes, any garden can be considered an approved source of community food products if the following
conditions are met:
- Community food BMPs are used for the safe production, and handling of the produce.
- The producer is registered as a Community Food Producer.
- The producer only conducts direct sales to the public (such as at Community Events), restaurants or cottage food operations. At this time, Community Food Producers and Gleaners cannot sell their produce to retail markets, such as grocery stores.
A community food producer may advertise as well as accept orders and payments via Internet or phone. However, a community food producer must deliver (in person) to the customer. A community food producer may not deliver any products via US Mail, UPS, FedEx or using any other third-party delivery service. A community food producer may not introduce products into interstate commerce.
Yes, but a separate permit may be required. Contact DEHS if interested in obtaining an additional permit.
Yes, as long as the product meets the state and local requirements applicable for the type of product being sold (such as a Cottage Food Operation or otherwise prepared in a permitted kitchen).
Yes, you may sell community food products in other Counties in California if no local ordinances prevent it and you meet their local requirements (Cal Code Section 114376 (a)).
Yes. The new law authorizes individuals to sell their products via “direct” marketing venues (Cal Code Section 114376(a)). Be advised that other local land use and zoning requirements, such as special event permits may apply. Verify the local requirements with DEHS (Cal Code, Section 113752).
While not specifically included in this new law, EHS may allow food banks to receive these products if they are grown according to the best management practices and the producer is registered with EHS. Additional clarification may be required in future law amendments.
You may sell your community food products directly to a restaurant but not to a market. As approved, the law only allows for direct sales of community food products. You may not conduct indirect sales such as selling to a market that will then sell your community food products to their customers. You may, however, sell your community food products directly to the public at a Community Event.
Community Food Producers and Gleaners may sell the products they acquire or grow directly to:
- The public
- Permitted restaurants
- Cottage Food Operators (Cal Code, Section 114376(a))
- On premises controlled by the producer (Cal Code, Section 113789(c)(6))
Community Food Producers or Gleaners can sell whole agricultural products, including uncut fruits and vegetables, and up to 15 dozen unrefrigerated eggs per month, provided that all food is grown according to the Food Safety Guidelines for Small Farms published by the Department of Food and Agriculture. These guidelines provide Best Management Practices (BMPs) to protect food safety and can be found at: http://bit.ly/1Gqn2of
You can conduct direct sales of the following community food products from your garden:
- Whole uncut fruits and vegetables, including unshelled nuts
- Cutting beyond that required during harvesting is considered food processing and will require further permitting
- Unrefrigerated shell eggs (up to 15 dozen per month)
- Certain high-risk products (such as sprouts and mushrooms) may require further evaluation and be subject to additional requirements. Check with EHS if applicable.
No, your property will not receive a routine inspection by EHS. Inspections of Community Food Producer or Gleaners will only be conducted in response to a food safety recall or food safety complaint (Cal Code, Section 114376.5). The law allows EHS to recover costs from the Community Food Producer or Gleaner that are associated with complaint investigations.
A Community Food Producer may raise chickens and sell up to 15 dozen unrefrigerated shell eggs per month. To sell eggs, you must:
- Comply with the local land use and zoning restrictions (Cal Code, Section 114376(b))
- Register with EHS as a Community Food Producer
- Register with the Egg Safety and Quality Management Program. Registration information can be found at: http://bit.ly/1MThS8H
Return the completed Community Food Producer form to:
San Bernardino County Environmental Health Services
385 N. Arrowhead Ave. 2nd Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92415-0160
Or by email to: EHS.CustomerService@dph.sbcounty.gov
- Local registration as a Community Food Producer: Register with EHS by completing the Community Food Producer Registration Form found on our website in the Food Facilities section. (Cal Code, Section 114376 (b))
- Land Use and Zoning approval: Contact your local Planning / Community Development Agency to verify compliance with applicable local land use and zoning restrictions (Cal Code, Section 113752).
- Sales permit/license: Contact your local jurisdiction to obtain a business license or peddling permit, if required.
- Egg Sales registration: Register with the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Egg Safety and Quality Management Program. Registration information can be found at: http://bit.ly/1MThS8H.
- Pesticide use: Contact the local Agricultural Commissioner’s Office if you are planning to use pesticides.
“Gleaner” means a person who legally gathers remnants of an agricultural crop or harvests part of, or all of, an agricultural crop made available by the owner of the agricultural crop (Cal Code, Section 113796).
“Community Food Producer” means a producer of agricultural products on land that is not zoned for agricultural use but is otherwise in compliance with applicable local land use and zoning restrictions, including, but not limited to, restrictions governing personal gardens, community gardens, school gardens, and culinary gardens (California Retail Food Code (Cal Code), Section 113752).
This new law becomes effective on January 1, 2015. Unless prohibited by a local ordinance (Section 114376(a)), the new law authorizes a Community Food Producer or a Gleaner, as defined, to sell or provide whole uncut fruits or vegetables and up to 15 dozen unrefrigerated shell eggs per month if they meet specified requirements. Community Food Producers and Gleaners may only sell directly to the public, to a permitted restaurant, or to a Cottage Food Operator. The law authorizes San Bernardino County Division of Environmental Health Services (DEHS) to require a Community Food Producer or Gleaner to register and to provide specified information. A fee for registering is not required at this time.
While the law does not require routine inspections, it authorizes an enforcement officer to inspect the operations of a Community Food Producer or Gleaner in response to a food safety recall or food safety complaint, issue a cease and desist order for violations to the provisions of the law, conduct reinspection’s to verify violations are corrected before operations resume, and to recover reasonable costs associated with these inspections.
Failure to meet the requirements of the law is a crime, and Community Food Producers have a legal obligation to implement the best management practices. DEHS requires Community Food Producers to register and complete a self-certification stating they are in compliance with applicable local land use and zoning restrictions and that they use best management practices, as described in the Food Safety Guidelines for Small Farms published the Department of Food and Agriculture (http://bit.ly/1Gqn2of), to grow, harvest and distribute the community foods they are producing.