Restricting Home-Cooked Meals: An Analysis of Kentucky’s Cottage Food Laws
Dalton Gregory*
Introduction
It is 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic is in full swing. People rush to grocery stores to get the food they need for their families, but stores have place limits on how much people can buy. Many stores lack the amount of goods necessary for everyone to purchase what they need as global supply chains have been disrupted. Families struggle to get the food they need, and many go hungry until supply chains can be restored back to normal.
This is a scene too many Americans, and people all around the world, are familiar with. One North Carolina community responded by utilizing locally produced food while supply chains remained interrupted.[1] Local foods supplemented the limited supply of mass-produced foods in this scenario, which highlighted a key benefit of local produce.
Local foods provide many benefits ranging from supply benefits, illuminated during the pandemic, to health benefits. Despite these benefits, local foods are not widely available because of laws regulating food production and sale. In response to this every state has passed cottage food laws to encourage local foods and improve older laws.
Kentucky is one such state that has made improvements, but this note argues that Kentucky must further reform its current cottage food laws by lessening restrictions. Part I provides background on cottage food laws and what they are. Part II explains the benefits of cottage food laws and explains why they should be less restrictive. Part III dives into Kentucky’s current cottage food laws and its two-part classification system for regulating different cottage foods differently. Finally, Part IV provides recommendations for how Kentucky could update its cottage food laws.
I. Background on Cottage Food Laws
Cottage food laws are laws relating to foods that are deemed to be low risk for contamination and are not considered hazardous.[2] These laws often result in less regulations on the preparation and sale of these foods because they are less hazardous.[3] States often regulate these foods differently, and even vary in what they consider to be “cottage foods.”[4] These laws promote the production and sale of non-hazardous foods by lessening the burdens of typical food regulations.[5] This promotes the production of locally grown and produced foods and allows for more direct purchases.[6] Some states also view these laws as a way to boost local economies.[7]
Cottage food laws often accomplish these goals through a variety of different means, but there are common elements. Most states limit the scope of cottage food laws to only cover non-hazardous foods.[8] States also often regulate where these foods can be sold, such as official farmers’ markets, produce stands, and grocery stores.[9] Cottage food laws may also require licenses, permits, and proper labels.[10] Finally, states often regulate the amount individuals can earn from selling cottage foods.[11] These elements are common across the country, but states still vary greatly in each.
In recent years, states across the country have been passing cottage food laws and reforming older laws.[12] Much of this recent change has been done to help promote local economies.[13] The Institute of Justice is one organization aiding in this movement by working with various states to reform and update their cottage food laws.[14] While there has been progress, there is still room for improvement in many states, including Kentucky.
II. The Benefits of Cottage Foods
A. The Benefits to Food Security
One benefit of having stronger cottage food laws that impose less restrictions is the impact the laws could have on food security. Less restrictions on cottage foods would allow them to be sold more easily by giving customers direct access to producers. The potential benefit of having less restrictive cottage food laws would be particularly impactful for the country as in 2023, 13.5 percent of households experienced food insecurity at some point.[15]
The potential benefit of helping decrease food insecurity can also be more important during times of emergency and crisis. Global and national food supply lines can be disrupted during crises, and fewer restrictions on cottage foods can help to alleviate the harms. The Covid-19 pandemic saw this firsthand as countries and states implemented policies and restrictions to help slow the spread.[16] This impacted food supply chains across multiple sectors including finding laborers to harvest crops and shipping foods to different countries.[17] This led to increases in food insecurity as supply chains were disrupted.[18] Having easier access to locally grown and processed foods helps alleviate these disruptions to food sources seen during the recent pandemic.
B. Environmental Benefits of Cottage Foods
Promoting local produce would also have environmental benefits stemming from the potential harms of industrial agriculture. One potential environmental benefit would come from reducing the harmful effects of industrial agriculture on water sources. Large-scale industrialized agriculture often requires substantial amounts of water,[19] often relying on intricate irrigation systems that pull water from distant sources,[20] and accounts for around a third of the nation’s water use.[21] Effective cottage food laws would reduce water usage for crops as locally grown crops are typically not grown on the same scale that requires massive amounts of water.
Industrial agriculture also causes water pollution. Industrial agriculture creates runoff that enters the waterways and can have harmful effects downstream.[22] Fertilizers are overused and enter water sources, depleting oxygen.[23] Depleting oxygen in water sources causes dead zones below the surface, killing aquatic life.[24] Fertilizers can also contaminate drinking water as they often contain nitrates.[25] Nitrate infected water can create disorders in people relating to oxygen in the blood, and it is particularly harmful for pregnant women.[26] Pesticides, particularly atrazine often used for corn, also contaminate drinking water sources and can pose health risks to people.[27] While these risks of water pollution would not be completely solved, they would be reduced.
Promoting cottage foods also mitigates the harm from monocultures often seen in industrial agriculture. Industrial farming largely consists of monocultures, meaning that large amounts of one crop are grown year after year on the same ground.[28] Monoculture farming greatly hurts the topsoil and often causes the ground to erode because of the constant tilling of the ground loosening the soil and making it more susceptible to being carried away by runoff.[29] Erosion hurts the quality of the farmland as the nutrient-rich topsoil is lost over time to erosion, which will hurt farm production in future years, and erosion damages waterways as an estimated two billion tons of sediment enters waterways each year.[30] Supporting cottage foods can help to minimize erosion as local small-scale farmers may not follow the monoculture practices of large-scale industrial farming.
C. Health Benefits of Cottage Foods
In addition to the benefits to food security and the environment, promoting cottage foods could also have various health benefits. One key health benefit results from local produce not using the same harmful pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that are often used in industrial farming.[31] Consuming foods that contain these chemicals can cause harmful health implications, but locally grown foods do not usually contain these harmful chemicals.[32] Industrial agriculture also frequently utilizes chemical preservatives, but local produce often does not contain these chemical preservatives because it does not have to be shipped over long distances and stored as long.[33] The local nature of cottage foods typically means that it has less chemicals in it that people may consume, potentially causing harmful health effects.
Cottage foods may also be healthier because they are often fresh. Fresh foods are often more nutrient dense, and local produce can be harvested and quickly sold at peak freshness.[34] Processed foods are often “empty calorie foods” with high amounts of sugars and fats.[35] Replacing these with locally grown produce would provide more nutrients, antioxidants, and polyphenols that greatly benefit one’s health.[36] These healthy benefits to fresh produce can increase heart, blood, brain, digestion, and vision health, and cottage foods could provide these benefits.[37]
D. Economic Benefits
Reforming cottage food laws to be less restrictive can also have economic benefits. One benefit is that more produce could be sold in farmers’ markets. The number of farmers’ markets has significantly increased in Kentucky over the past thirty years.[38] Improving cottage food laws to make them less restrictive would allow more local produce to be sold at farmers’ markets, which means that consumers could buy more of their food locally. Spending locally has various economic benefits to local communities such as keeping more of the money local and creating local jobs.[39]
While farmers’ markets provide a great venue for local farmers to sell their produce, to fully recognize the economic benefits, laws will need to be changed to allow for cottage foods to be sold in more areas. Some organizations and groups argue that local food needs to be sold in grocery stores, restaurants, and schools.[40] The economic benefits would be significant because these institutions have greater purchasing power.[41]
The main economic benefit that would come from purchasing more cottage foods is what is known as the “multiplier effect.”[42] This is when initial spending increases later spending by consumers in the same community as the recipient of the initial spending then spends that money in their community.[43] Because cottage foods are often local foods, buying cottage foods means that the money goes to someone else in the community.[44] Purchasing local foods results in a multiplier effect that is two to three times greater than if that money were spent on non-local produce.[45]
Increasing cottage food supplies and sales could also boost local economies by creating more local jobs. One economist found that shifting just twenty percent of Detroit’s food spending towards local food could “create more than 4,700 new jobs” to the local area.[46] While the number of jobs created is not nearly as large in rural areas, studies have found that jobs would still be created.[47] Local producers also tend to pay higher wages, which can help local economies as these laborers have higher incomes.[48] While these economic benefits may vary with certain conditions, they still provide another reason to make cottage food laws less restrictive.[49]
Many of the benefits that come from cottage foods are because they are locally produced foods. Benefits such as food security, the environment, health, and local economies will not be uniform across the country, but states could still enjoy many of these benefits. To fully realize these benefits, many states, including Kentucky, will need to reform their cottage food laws.
III. Kentucky’s Bifurcated Regulation System
Kentucky enacted its first cottage food law in 2003, but updated it in 2018 and then again in 2019.[50] Kentucky regulates cottage foods under a bifurcated system in which home-based processors and home-based microprocessors are subject to different regulations.[51]
A. Home-Based Processors
Under Kentucky’s bifurcated cottage food regulatory system, home-based processors are more strictly regulated on what they can sell but otherwise must follow fewer regulations than microprocessors.[52] Processors can only sell non-potentially hazardous foods, which include dried herbs, whole fruits and vegetables, jellies, bread, fruit pies, cakes,[53] maple syrup, granola, trail mix, and popcorn.[54] These restrictions notably exclude acidified foods and canned produce.[55]
Home-based processors must still meet proper packaging requirements. The food’s container must first be clean and sanitary.[56] The containers must also be properly labeled with the name and address of the processor, the name of the food, the ingredients, the net weight of the food, the date the food was processed, and the following statement: “This product is home-produced and processed.”[57] These requirements aim to inform and protect consumers.
There are also certain restrictions on where home-based processors can sell their foods. Home-based processors can only sell their foods directly to consumers, which means they can sell food from their homes, at markets, community events, roadside stands, or even by delivery.[58] This allows home-based processors to sell their produce online as long as they sell it directly to the consumer.[59] This direct-to-consumer restriction also means that home-based processors cannot sell their produce to grocery stores or restaurants.[60] These restrictions on where home-based processors can sell their food are less burdensome than some states, but they could still be reformed.
Kentucky does not require home-based processors to pass inspections before they can sell their produce.[61] The Cabinet for Health and Family Services, however, can still inspect processing facilities annually if they choose to.[62] The Cabinet may also require inspections and testing if complaints are received or products are mislabeled.[63] If the Cabinet suspects “that an imminent health hazard exists,” the Cabinet can require the processor to stop until the hazard has been fixed.[64] These inspections and food samples are often up to the discretion of the cabinet and not actually required.
B. Home-Based Microprocessors
Kentucky’s second category of cottage food producers, home-based microprocessors, can sell a larger variety of homemade foods, but they must follow stricter regulations and restrictions on how they produce their foods.[65] Home-based microprocessors are farmers who process their own foods to sell to consumers.[66] The Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Human Services is responsible for regulating home-based microprocessors to protect the public health.[67]
To qualify as a home-based microprocessor, the producer must be a farmer that grows the primary ingredient used in the food.[68] Farmers must apply with the Department for Public Health or the University of Kentucky Extension Service Office.[69] Applicants must provide information about the farm, the food to be produced, completion of the Food Processing School, an “established scheduled process for each food item,”[70] and pay a fifty dollar fee for certification every year.[71]
Microprocessors must also comply with multiple inspections and receive training before they begin producing their products. Applicants must attend Food Processing School, and microprocessors must have their recipes approved.[72] Finally, microprocessors must undergo facility inspections, and the Cabinet must inspect microprocessors’ facilities at least every four years.[73] Once a microprocessor becomes certified, the Cabinet may suspend or revoke the certification at any point for violations, but the microprocessor must receive notice.[74]
Home-based microprocessors are allowed to produce more food products than home-based processors. Microprocessors may produce all the foods processors produce, but microprocessors can produce additional acidified foods.[75] These acidified foods include many acid foods and acid food products, such as low-acid canned foods.[76] Producing canned foods allows microprocessors to can the foods they grow to last longer on shelves before or after it is sold to consumers.
To justify allowing microprocessors to sell these foods, the Cabinet makes them follow stricter guidelines on the facilities where the food is produced. Microprocessors must maintain a clean facility, ensuring that the kitchen area and any additional areas are sanitized.[77] Any vehicles used to transport food products and any other equipment must also be sanitized, but there are also strict restrictions on the type of equipment that can be used.[78] Microprocessors are only allowed to sell their foods directly to consumers at “farmers markets, certified roadside stands, or on the processor’s farm.”[79] This greatly restricts where microprocessors can conduct their business.
Like processors, microprocessors must properly label their produce. Microprocessors must label their products with the exact same information that processors do.[80] In addition to this, microprocessors must provide allergen information on their products.[81] Labeling requirements in Kentucky do not pose a severe burden and provide valuable information to the consumers.
Kentucky places many harsh restrictions and regulations on microprocessors compared to processors to justify allowing microprocessors to produce more foods. This small benefit does not justify these harsh regulations that discourage people from producing their own food to sell.
IV. Reforming Kentucky’s Cottage Food Laws
While Kentucky’s current cottage food laws have made improvements on past laws, the state could still largely reform the current laws to better promote local foods and fully realize the benefits. Kentucky could improve its cottage food laws by allowing a larger variety of products to be sold, increasing the number of places where local producers can sell their goods, and decreasing the regulatory burdens that local producers have to go through. Not only would these changes benefit the local producers themselves, but people across the state and the state as a whole would benefit.
One key area of Kentucky’s cottage food laws that needs to be reformed is in what food products local producers are allowed to sell. Processors should be permitted to sell more goods, especially those that pose little risk. One way to do this would be to allow processors to make and sell acidified food and low-acid canned goods. Processors in Kentucky should also be permitted to sell all shelf-stable foods instead of a list of approved foods. These foods pose little risk to public health, so making these adjustments would still protect public health and benefit processors.
The regulations on what foods home-based microprocessors may sell also needs to be reformed for Kentucky to fully realize the benefits of cottage foods. Microprocessors should be permitted to sell any foods that home-based processors may sell, but microprocessors should be allowed to also sell refrigerated goods and fermented foods. Microprocessors must be farmers under Kentucky law, so expanding what foods microprocessors may sell to include eggs and dairy products would increase the number of farmers who could sell their local produce. This would allow more local foods to be sold and increase the number of producers who could sell their foods.
Kentucky also needs to reform its restrictions on where local producers may sell their foods. With the emergence of online grocery orders and deliveries, local producers should not be disadvantaged by being prevented from selling their products online and delivering them. All local producers also need to be allowed to sell directly to consumers anywhere. These products already must be properly labeled as being homemade, so consumers could decide for themselves if they want to purchase these products. Kentucky’s current $60,000 sales cap also poses an undue restriction that should be eliminated. Eliminating the sales cap would allow local producers to make and sell their products without having to worry about the sales cap. This would further encourage local producers to sell as much produce as they can, increasing access to healthy food.
Reforming Kentucky’s law to allow microprocessors to sell their foods to restaurants would further increase access to local produce. Microprocessors must go through multiple trainings and receive permits, so they are already held to high standards. Kentucky should also reward microprocessors who must go through these hurdles by allowing them to sell their foods to schools. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has already made this a clear goal by creating a program to reward schools for using local produce, so adapting Kentucky’s laws to allow microprocessors to sell to schools would help with this goal.[82] Microprocessors must be rewarded for Kentucky to reap the benefits of cottage foods, and expanding where microprocessors may sell their foods is key.
Kentucky’s regulations on receiving permits, training, and licenses also need to be changed, but many of these regulatory burdens can be justified if the rest of Kentucky’s cottage food laws are reformed. Processors do not face many regulatory burdens, so nothing needs to be changed for these local processors. Microprocessors do face many regulatory burdens, some of which are justified to ensure food is safe. One key reform is to only require microprocessors to be certified once instead of having to pay to renew their certification every year. Microprocessors should also not have to pay for each recipe they produce. Eliminating this requirement would encourage microprocessors to create more food products, leading to a larger variety of products.
Reforming Kentucky’s cottage food laws would lead to many benefits for the people of Kentucky and the state as a whole. Local producers would of course be the most obvious class of people benefited, but consumers would also benefit along with the economy and environment.
Kentucky’s public health would greatly benefit from these reforms by giving people easier access to local and healthy foods while still ensuring these foods do not pose a health risk. Local foods are often healthier,[83] so easing the restrictions on local produce would give more people access to healthy foods. Allowing local producers to sell a greater variety of foods would also give consumers access to a larger variety of healthy foods. Keeping some of Kentucky’s regulatory burdens in place would still ensure that local produce is safe for consumption, quelling one of the common criticisms of homemade foods, but reforms could still increase access to healthy foods.
Kentucky’s economy would also greatly benefit from reforming the cottage food laws, particularly the agricultural sectors. Farmers would be able to sell more of their produce to processors or use their own produce in foods as microprocessors. Farmers would have access to more outlets for their produce or turn it into final food products worth more. This is particularly important to Kentucky where farming has played an important role in the state’s economy but has been decreasing with the decline in small farms.[84] Reforming the laws would also help Kentucky’s economy by keeping more money local.[85] Cottage foods can significantly contribute to local economies, but for Kentucky to fully realize these benefits the state must reform its laws.
On top of these health benefits and economic benefits to Kentuckians, rural Kentuckians would greatly benefit by having easier access to food sources. Creating new sources for consumers to obtain food would decrease food insecurity, particularly in rural areas. Urban areas could also benefit if producers decided to sell their products in urban areas. Kentucky was the sixth hungriest state in 2022, and by reforming the cottage food laws the state would decrease food insecurity.[86]
On top of all these direct benefits that Kentucky would see by reforming its cottage food laws, the state, and nation, would see environmental benefits. These environmental benefits largely come from the local nature of cottage foods not produced with large-scale agricultural methods.[87] These local and national benefits highlight the need for Kentucky to reform its cottage food laws to allow more food products to be sold, more sales locations, and less regulatory burdens.
Conclusion
Cottage foods offer many benefits to society ranging from health benefits, economic benefits, and environmental benefits. Cottage food laws allow for people to sell these homemade foods without having to go through the normal processes and regulations that food producers face. These laws are often passed to promote local produce to capitalize on the many benefits that come with local foods. While Kentucky has cottage food laws in place, they fail to fully promote local produce. Kentucky must reform its current laws by expanding the foods that local producers may sell, allowing local producers to sell their products in more places, eliminating the sales cap on local producers, and decreasing the regulatory burdens on local producers. Adopting these changes will allow the state to fully recognize the many benefits that come with cottage foods.
* J.D. Expected 2026, University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law; BA Political Science, The George Washington University, 2023. I want to thank the Senior Staff Editors on the Kentucky Law Journal Online for their hard work on this piece. I also want to thank Matthew Chaney for being the best Online Content Manager I could have asked for and for having to work closely with me throughout this journey. Finally, I want to thank my parents and the rest of my family for supporting me throughout law school. Without their support this note and my law school journey would not have been possible.
[1] Nathan Ham, High Country Food Hub Sees Major Increases in Customer Sales and in Food Supply from Local Farmers, High Country Press (May 13, 2020, 3:59 PM), https://www.hcpress.com/front-page/high-country-food-hub-sees-major-increases-in-customer-sales-and-in-food-supply-from-local-farmers.html [https://perma.cc/4CG6-2ANW].
[2] Jana Caracciolo & Peggy Kirk Hall, “Cottage Food” Laws, Nat’l Agric. L. Ctr., https://nationalaglawcenter.org/state-compilations/cottagefood/ [https://perma.cc/7TL4-UB43].
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Alli Condra, Cottage Food Laws in the United States 4 (Aug. 2013).
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id. at 10.
[9] Id. at 12.
[10] Id. at 13, 16.
[11] Id. at 14.
[12] Recent State Reforms for Homemade Food Businesses, Inst. for Just., https://ij.org/legislative-advocacy/state-reforms-for-cottage-food-and-food-freedom-laws/ [https://perma.cc/8R4W-XH4R].
[13] Condra, supra note 5, at 4.
[14] Recent State Reforms for Homemade Food Business, supra note 12.
[15] Food Security in the U.S.: Key Statistics & Graphics, Econ. Rsch. Serv., (Jan. 8, 2025) https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-u-s/key-statistics-graphics/ [https://perma.cc/FX6G-3CMV].
[16] Hojatollah Kakaei, Heshmatollah Nourmoradi, Salar Bakhtiyari, Mohsen Jalilian, & Amin Mirzaei, COVID-19 and the Sustainable Development Goals 3, (Mohammad Hadi Dehghani, Rama Rao Karri, & Sharmili Roy eds., 2022).
[17] Serpil Aday & Mehmet Seckin Aday, Impact of COVID-19 on the Food Supply Chain, 4 Food Quality and Safety 167, 169–70 (2020).
[18] Ashley C. McCarthy, Emily H. Belarmino, Farryl Bertmann & Meredith T. Niles, Food Security Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Longitudinal Evidence from a Cohort of Adults in Vermont During the First Year, 14 Nutrients 1, Mar. 24, 2022, at 1, 11.
[19] Mary Jane Angelo, Corn, Carbon, and Conservation: Rethinking U.S. Agricultural Policy in a Changing Global Environment, 17 Geo. Mason L. Rev. 593, 603 (2010).
[20] Id. at 604.
[21] Id.
[22] Sarah Schindler, Food Federalism: States, Local Governments, and the Fight for Food Sovereignty, 79 Ohio St. L.J. 761, 766 (2018).
[23] Margot J. Pollans, Drinking Water Protection and Agricultural Exceptionalism, 77 Ohio St. L.J. 1195, 1209 (2016).
[24] Id.
[25] Id. at 1211.
[26] Id.
[27] Id. at 1213.
[28] Schindler, supra note 22, at 766.
[29] Angelo, supra note 19, at 606.
[30] Id.
[31] Madison McCurdy, Health Benefits of Eating Locally, Univ. of N.H. (May 17, 2022), https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2022/05/health-benefits-eating-locally [https://perma.cc/U7LS-BD5P].
[32] Id.
[33] See id.
[34] Id.
[35] Id.
[36] Id.
[37] Id.
[38] Kentucky Proud Farmers’ Markets, Kentucky Proud, https://www.kyproud.com/programs/farmers-markets [https://perma.cc/4W7J-8Y7Y].
[39] See id.
[40]Oran B. Hesterman, Buying Local Makes Economic Sense, Fair Food Network https://fairfoodnetwork.org/from-the-field/buying-local-makes-economic-sense/ [https://perma.cc/CN9T-D9CY].
[41] Id.
[42] Id.
[43] Id.
[44] Id.
[45] Id.
[46] Id.
[47] Dave Swenson, The Regional Economic Development Potential and Constraints to Local Foods Development in the Midwest 1, 3 (Mar. 25, 2011), https://core.ac.uk/reader/6857680 [https://perma.cc/SSW7-DVBJ].
[48] Dave Shideler, Allie Bauman, Dawn Thilmany, & Becca B.R. Jablonski, Putting Local Food Dollars to Work: The Economic Benefits of Local Food Dollars to Workers, Farms and Communities, 33 Choices, 3rd Quarter 2018, at 1, 6.
[49] Id.
[50] House Bill 468, Community Farm Alliance, https://cfaky.org/house-bill-468/ [https://perma.cc/QNG4-BLU3].
[51] Selling Homemade Food in Kentucky, Inst. for Just., https://ij.org/issues/economic-liberty/homemade-food-seller/kentucky/ [https://perma.cc/ZL2L-9X2K].
[52] Id.
[53] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217.015(56) (2024).
[54] 902 Ky. Admin. Regs. 45:090 § 2(1) (2025).
[55] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217.136(2) (2024).
[56] § 217.136(1)(a).
[57] § 217.136(3).
[58] § 217.136(5).
[59] Id.
[60] Selling Homemade Food in Kentucky, supra note 51.
[61] § 217.136(6).
[62] § 217.136(7).
[63] § 217.136(8).
[64] § 217.136(9).
[65] Selling Homemade Food in Kentucky, supra note 51.
[66] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217.015(57) (2024).
[67] § 217.137.
[68] 902 Ky. Admin. Regs. 45:090 § 5(9)(a) (2025).
[69] Id. § 4(1).
[70] Id. § 4(2).
[71] Id. § 4(6).
[72] Id. § 4(2)(f)-(g).
[73] Id. § 8(1).
[74] Id. § 9(1).
[75] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217.015(57) (2024).
[76] Id.
[77] 902 Ky. Admin. Regs. 45:090 § 6 (2025).
[78] Id. § 5.
[79] Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217.137(2) (2024).
[80] 902 Ky. Admin. Regs. 45:090 § 4(4) (2025).
[81] Id. § 3(5)(b).
[82] Nadia Ramlagan, New Kentucky Department of Agriculture Program Aims to Boost Local Farm to School Partnerships, N. Ky. Trib. (Mar. 1, 2025), nkytribune.com/2025/03/new-kentucky-department-of-agriculture-program-aims-to-boost-local-farm-to-school-partnerships/ [https://perma.cc/LU9U-DPQ8].
[83] See supra Part II(C).
[84] Bill Estep, Number of Kentucky Farms and Farmers Shrinking, but Sales Are Record Breaking, Lexington Herald Leader (Feb. 27, 2024), https://www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article285924551.html [https://perma.cc/D3TB-ZJBE].
[85] See supra Part II(D).
[86] Top 10 Hungriest States in the U.S., Friends Comm. on Nat’l Legis. (Sep. 17, 2024), https://www.fcnl.org/updates/2024-09/top-10-hungriest-states-us [https://perma.cc/FF2J-EU6C].
[87] See supra Part II(B).