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COOK Alliance

@thecookalliance

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The COOK Alliance is the nonprofit legalizing the sale of home cooked meals and supporting home-based culinary entrepreneurs.
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What happens when home cooks are given a legal pathway to start a food business? The Home Kitchen Pathway is the first statewide evaluation of California’s MEHKO program. COOK Alliance and CAMEO Network partnered with independent researchers to examine the program’s first five years using permitting data, public records from environmental health and code enforcement agencies, surveys and focus groups. The data confirms what we’ve long seen in practice, that the program is safe, successful, and helping families across California launch new businesses and make ends meet. To read the full report, check out the link in the bio or visit: cookalliance.org/researchreport #mehko #cookalliance #entrepreneurship by @thecookalliance
Reminder: COOK Chat is Tuesday, December 3rd at 5:30pm! 🗣️ Are you ready to connect with fellow MEHKO operators? Join us for COOK Chat, a monthly interactive Zoom session hosted by COOK Alliance! What to expect: 🔶Networking with current and aspiring MEHKO owners 🔶Sharing tips, strategies, and solutions 🔶Learning from real experiences Register now at the link in the bio! #mehko #cookalliance #smallbusniess #culinaryentrepreneur🍴 #homebasedfood #homebasedbusiness by @thecookalliance
Celebrate the launch of LA MEHKO Week! 🎉 Join MEHKO chefs, community leaders, and local food champions for a free community event celebrating LA County’s growing home-based food community. Come network, connect with local resources, hear from community leaders, and celebrate the entrepreneurs behind LA’s home-based food economy. LA MEHKO Week takes place November 9–15, 2026, marking two years of Los Angeles County’s MEHKO program and spotlighting home-based culinary entrepreneurs across the county. 📍Earvin Magic Johnson Community Center 🗓️ Saturday, November 7 ⏰ 12-3pm RSVP at mehkoweek.com! 👩🏽‍🍳 by @thecookalliance
Discover the incredible flavors of LA County’s Homemade Food Scene during the first-ever LA MEHKO Week 🍽️🎊 Modeled after a traditional restaurant week, participating MEHKOs will offer special menus and promotions throughout November 9-15 Use our searchable online map to discover homemade food in neighborhoods across LA County and find your next hidden gem! MEHKOs are small food businesses run from permitted home kitchens. Created under California law, they give local home cooks a way to safely and legally sell freshly made meals directly to their customers. 🏡 LA MEHKO Week is presented by COOK Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting home-based food entrepreneurs, with support from LA County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell’s office, LA County Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Economic Opportunity. by @thecookalliance
📣 UPDATE: Sacramento County’s discussion of the MEHKO program has been moved to December 8, 2026. Support Sacramento County home cooks! Right now, Sacramento County residents don’t have a permit pathway to prepare and sell freshly cooked meals from their home kitchens. A MEHKO program would change that, giving local cooks a legal, regulated way to start small food businesses from home. Communities across California already offer this opportunity. MEHKOs are permitted by local Environmental Health and must meet food safety requirements, giving home cooks an affordable way to earn income and test a business idea without the high cost of opening a restaurant or renting a commercial kitchen. On October 20, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will consider authorizing the MEHKO program. We need your voice for this important step forward! Visit SacraMEHKO.org to learn more and find ways to get involved. 🍽️ by @thecookalliance
¡COOK Chat ahora también en español! 🍽️💬 ¿Tienes un negocio MEHKO o estás pensando en empezar uno? Acompáñanos en COOK Chat en Español, un espacio para conectar con otros emprendedores de comida desde casa, hacer preguntas, compartir experiencias y apoyarnos en comunidad. 📅 Segundo martes de cada mes ⏰ 5:30 pm 💻 Por Zoom 🎉Primera reunión: martes 13 de octubre COOK Chat es organizado por COOK Alliance, una organización sin fines de lucro dedicada a apoyar a emprendedores MEHKO. 🔗 Regístrate en el enlace de nuestra bio o visita tinyurl.com/COOKChatEspanol ¡Esperamos verte allí! by @thecookalliance
Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant can cost over $100,000, a financial barrier that keeps talented local cooks, caregivers, and micro-entrepreneurs from ever launching their dreams. A MEHKO permit changes that by letting Pasadena residents start a small food business right from home, backed by food safety training, health department oversight, and strict safety standards. MEHKOs: ✨ Create affordable pathways to entrepreneurship for local families 🥗 Expand access to fresh, culturally rich, homemade food in our neighborhoods 🤝 Provide flexible work opportunities for caregivers and stay-at-home parents The City of Pasadena is collecting public input right now! Make sure City Council hears that our community supports safe, regulated home food businesses! 👉 Fill out the brief city survey today! Scan the QR code or head to the link in our bio! #PasadenaSmallBusiness #MicroEntrepreneurship #MEHKO #EconomicEmpowerment #PasadenaCommunity by @thecookalliance
Something’s cooking in LA County 👀 LA MEHKO Week is happening November 9-15, 2026. by @thecookalliance
Micro-enterprise Home Kitchens allow people to make a living in this ever increasingly expensive city, and support a vibrant culinary scene. Let them cook!!! by @thecookalliance
The power of organizing in action. For years, Nuestra Causa has organized alongside street vendors, building collective power, developing leadership, and fighting together for a city where the people most impacted by policy have the power to shape it. Through that work, vendors came together through the @foodvendorscouncil organizing themselves, developing their own leadership, and carrying their collective voice from the streets into the halls of power. Supervisor @jackiefielder_ has been a strong ally since the early years of this street vendor movement and continues to stand alongside our community. Today, with her introduction of MEHKO, a pathway for home-based food businesses, we move another step closer toward economic opportunity and a system shaped by the people who have too often been excluded from it. This is what organizing looks like. Community organizations, elected leaders, and most importantly, impacted people working together to turn lived experience into collective action and collective action into policy. Because lasting change isn’t something we deliver to our communities. It’s something we build together. The power has always rested with an organized people. #FoodVendorCouncil #MissionStreetVendorsAssociation #NuestraCausa by @thecookalliance
San Francisco, show your support for home cooks! On Tuesday, September 22, Supervisor Jackie Fielder will introduce legislation to bring the MEHKO program to San Francisco, opening a legal pathway for residents to prepare and sell meals from their home kitchens. Join us and speak out in support of MEHKOs! 📍 Rally & Press Conference City Hall Steps on Polk Street 12:00–12:45 pm • Please arrive by 11:45 a.m. 🎤 Public Comment Board of Supervisors meeting starts at 2:00 pm. Legislation is expected near the end of the meeting, so please plan for a wait. Get more details: tinyurl.com/SF-MEHKO Bring a friend, share this post, and help bring this opportunity to San Francisco! by @thecookalliance
MEHKOs are coming before the Pasadena City Council! On Tuesday, September 15, the Council will vote on establishing a MEHKO pilot program in Pasadena. MEHKO permits give home cooks a safe, legal way to start a small food business from home. This opportunity is already available across Los Angeles County and in Long Beach, but not yet in Pasadena. Community members can provide public comment in person or virtually, or send an email to the City Council. 🔸Public comment guide: tinyurl.com/MEHKO-Pasadena 🔸Tuesday, September 15 at 6PM Please help spread the word and support Pasadena’s home cooks! #mehko by @thecookalliance

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