Home baking is a way for entrepreneurs to get started small in their own homes without having to spend tens of thousands of dollars on professional equipment and commercial kitchen space. States across the country have embraced these businesses as job creators and revenue generators, but New Jersey is now the only state to completely ban the sale of home baked goods, leaving these economic engines out in the cold.
New Jersey’s ban on home baking ventures is bad for business, bad for the economic vitality of the state, and bad for residents.
That’s why the Institute for Justice and bakers across the state created the NJ Home Bakers Association to battle the state’s needless and burdensome regulations. Together, we are working to pass the New Jersey Home Bakers’ Bill, so that we can put more New Jerseyans to work. Unnecessary red tape like the home baking ban has no place anywhere, much less in the Garden State, and does nothing more than stunt entrepreneurship and job creation.
Although the NJ Home Bakers’ Bill passed through the Assembly with unanimous support, the Senate’s version has yet to be scheduled for a hearing in the Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.
To vindicate the right of New Jersey bakers to earn an honest living, IJ filed a lawsuit in December 2017 against the New Jersey Department of Health to allow home-baked goods to be sold directly to bakers’ friends, neighbors, and customers.
Meanwhile, you can support these efforts by calling, emailing, or messaging legislators using the information on the NJ Home Bakers Association website. Tell them to schedule the NJ Home Bakers’ Bill for a hearing!