Value-Added Food Guide

Making and Selling Food in San Juan County and Beyond!

Does running your own food business intrigue you? Would you like to expand what your existing food business offers? Want to explore creating a value-added food product but are unsure where to start?

Welcome to Taproot Community Kitchen’s guide on making and selling value-added foods. What is a value-added food? These are products that have been changed from its raw form — by adding ingredients, changing its form, and/or using specific packaging.

This guide applies to most ready to eat and value-added food products, which need approval from San Juan County (SJC), Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and/or Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We’ve done our best to list topics and questions you need to consider. Resource links are listed below to help you take the right steps to making and selling products legally in San Juan County and beyond! We encourage you to read through our guide and if you’re interested in using the Taproot Community Kitchen to make your product please contact us at info@lopeztaproot.org to set up a tour and talk more about your business ideas.

Where do you want to sell your products? 

When thinking about where you want to sell your food product, you also have to think about how you sell your product. Wholesale and retail are the main ways of selling. Retail involves selling products directly to the end consumer (directly to a person who wants to eat your food) and wholesale involves selling products in bulk to another business (like a grocery store) who then sells your product directly to their customers. Different selling markets have different licensing needs, regulations, price points, and marketing needs. And in some cases you’ll be responsible for charging sales tax on your food product. To help you start thinking about all the possible places you could sell your product here’s a list:

  • Farm stands
  • Farmer’s market
  • Public Events like Bazaars and Festivals
  • Private Events like Weddings, Birthdays, Special Celebrations
  • SJI Food Hub
  • Grocery stores
  • Coffee shops and other restaurants
  • Gift shops
  • Online with a pick up option or shipping options

A few other questions to think about …

Do you want/expect to make over $25,000 per year?  Over $50,000? Will your food product be a ready to eat product or will it be something they need to finish cooking at home? Will the product be shelf-stable? Will it be need to be refrigerated?

Where will you be making your food product? And what type of food license will you need?

Typically you need to make your food in a licensed commercial kitchen. You will either need a San Juan County (SJC) Food Establishment Permit — temporary or permanent permit — or a Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) Food Processor’s License. In some cases you’ll need a USDA license (the WSDA should be able to give you guidance on that).

If you are a farm or small business, you might be able get your commercial kitchen licensed with SJC or the WSDA. And take note: Taproot is a county-licensed commercial kitchen and is zoned for commercial use.

Another important note, there are some basic foods — like baked goods and jams — you can make at home with a Cottage Food Permit so long as you sell direct to the consumer (this could not be sold in a grocery store).

Let’s take a look at the different types of most common food permits …

A Cottage Food Permit allows a resident of Washington State to make food that is not potentially hazardous such some baked goods, candies, jams, jellies, preserves, fruit butters, dry spice blends, or dry tea blends in their primary residential kitchen. For more information visit the WSDA Cottage Food Permit site for the latest information and application steps.

A SJC Food Establishment Permit allows residents of San Juan County to make and sell foods at a farm store/stand, as a caterer, in restaurants, from a mobile unit (food truck), at the farmer’s market, special events and festivals. San Juan County also has a separate application for food vendors to additionally sell their products on the San Juan Islands Food Hub. Typically, businesses that make foods which are considered “ready to eat” and can be directly sold to the consumer may work with the SJC Health Department to get their SJC Food Establishment Permit. For more information and to contact the SJC Health Department visit the SJC Food Safety site. The SJC Health Inspector/Environmental Health Specialist is available to help answer your questions — so don’t be shy to contact them.

A WSDA Food Processor’s License allows your business to handle and/or process foods in preparation for sale for human consumption. You can cook, bake, freeze, slice, dehydrate, smoke, roast, or repackage any type of food. You can also process and/or package foods for someone else. If you want to sell shelf-stable foods or foods that have to be finished by the consumer then you most likely will need a WSDA license. And if you sell your foods wholesale to a grocery store or gift shop to resell you will also most likely need a WSDA license. And some shelf-stable foods might need additional testing by a food processing authority to assure food safety standards are meet. Visit the WSDA Food Processors site to read more about the license, requirements, and find the application. We also recommend calling the WSDA general info line to ask questions — each food product and category is unique so getting some guidance up front is helpful. It will save you time and energy!

If you want to make and sell an acidified food like a shelf stable hot sauce the WSDA requires you to take a training course called “Better Process Control School.” The WSU hold an annual training (usually in February) — WSU Better Process Control Schools (BPCS). We have found these 100% online trainings:

What else do I need?

In every situation you will need to get a WA State Food Handlers Card — you can take this training online! It only take about 20 minutes to complete the training and a $10 fee.

You should get a Business License from WA State. And you’ll need to understand how to report income and what food items you might need to collect sales tax on. Washington state has an extensive guide online for Small Businesses and ways to contact them to ask questions.

And Taproot strongly recommends getting Liability Insurance for your food business like what is offered by FLIP or a local insurance agency.

Are you feeling confused about all those different food permits and which one you need? It’s ok, we understand, it’s a lot to figure out! Another great resource is the The Green Book, A Handbook for Small Farms (helpful for value-added and ready to eat food producers, too). We have copies at Taproot you can borrow. Contact us at info@lopeztaproot.org if you prefer a print copy.

Useful Fact Sheets within the Green Book are:

Fact Sheet 23: WSDA FOOD PROCESSOR LICENSE AND FACILITIES (PDF)

Fact Sheet 24: COTTAGE FOOD PERMIT (PDF)

Fact Sheet 48: SELLING READY-TO-EAT FOODS (PDF)

Other incredible resources

USDA Value-Added Producer Grants — The Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program helps agricultural producers enter value-added activities to generate new products, create and expand marketing opportunities, and increase producer income.

Economic Development Council of San Juan County — they help businesses get started and thrive!

Ventures Business Basics Course — an eight-week online course, that covers the basics of business marketing, sales, financial management, and operations. EN ESPAÑOL

San Juan Islands Ag Guild — a community-based organization dedicated to fostering a vibrant, resilient and sustainable local food system in San Juan County, Washington.

WSU Food Processing Extension & Research — help designed to assist the food processors of all types and sizes in the State of Washington, the Pacific Northwest region and the Nation.

Location 1008-C Dill Road, Lopez Island, WA 98261
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