City Council Ponders Residential Food Program

Long Beach City Council members reviewed a recommended ordinance of a residential food program called Micro Enterprise Home Kitchen Operations (MEHKO) March 10.

The Long Beach MEHKO food program would essentially create a citywide program that permits home-based food facilities to prepare and sell meals directly to consumers.

Enacting the potential MEHKO program in Long Beach would make the city one of two California cities (City of Berkeley), with its own health department, to enact such a program for its residents.

The COOK Alliance originally spearheaded the legislation that created the MEHKO permit, and we work closely with MEHKO businesses across the state.

Under California state law (AB 626/AB 377) that the ordinance aligns with, all MEHKO operators must follow these guidelines:

• Meal limits: Up to 30 meals per day, 90 meals per week.
• Revenue cap: Up to $100,000 in gross annual sales.
• Staffing: Maximum one full-time equivalent employee (household/family members excluded).
• Certification: Operator must hold a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate; all food handlers need Food Handler Cards.
• Same-day rule: Food must be prepared, cooked, and served or delivered the same day.
• Sales channels: Direct on-site sales, delivery, or approved food cart only — no wholesale, farmers markets, or retail store sales.

All is pretty standard similar to the City of Berkeley, which has implemented the MEHKO program since 2021, except the city of Long Beach by scale carries significantly larger amount of residents— Long Beach estimates about 460,000 residents, while Berkeley estimates about 125,000 residents.

The contrast has raised concerns as Long Beach’s Environmental Health Bureau will likely need to prepare for substantially higher permit volume once the ordinance is enacted.

City officials recommend to basically follow the operational blueprint that the city of Berkeley has initiated through their five-year track record, except by adding a contingency requesting permission and approval from property owners.

This alludes to a landlord-tenet friction over permits, enforcement, inspections and potential retaliation from landlords.

Co-director of Long Beach Fresh Tony Damico argues that requiring landlord approval would discourage potential MEHKO operators to exercise the ordinance.

“Their presentation doesn’t include the aspect of the ordinance that stipulates a written authorization from a landlord or HOA board to be able to apply for a permit. This aspect of the policy should be left out of the ordinance and practiced later, it will have an obvious chilling affect and would lead to more (food operators) working in the shadows and hold off on their dreams to become permitted home-based food vendors,” said Damico.

California’s MEHKO law (AB 626/AB 377) would not prevent a landlord from including a clause in a lease prohibiting home-based businesses, meaning renters could face potential eviction or lease termination if their landlord objects.

Damico offers an alternative, “instead, a simple self-attestation box should be considered, the city should request additional documentation only when an evidence based conflict exist.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 60% of housing in the Long Beach area are renter-occupied and of the overall housing is occupied by over 70% of people of color.

The MEHKO program since it’s been implemented in California has been utilized primarily by people of color.

A survey and focus group data conducted by EMC research suggest permitted home kitchens are demonstrably safer, less disruptive and more equitable than other informal food avenues.

Community Development Attorney at Public Counsel Cassidy Bennett alerts city council that even Long Beach’s own health department disagrees.

“We're hopeful that the MEHKO ordinance in Long Beach can be an opportunity for clients like ours immigrants, women, parents, BIPOC individuals, elders, new small business owners to share their food and culture with their neighbors and achieve financial self-sufficiency. Removing the requirement that tenants must get permission from a landlord in order to apply for a MEHKO permit, which was also not recommended by your health department, will allow for more of your constituents to utilize this exciting new ordinance,” said Bennett.

In the public comment forum, Damico expressed, “I’m weary of a city that preaches inclusion in their rhetoric and practices exclusion in their policy.”

The motion will continued to be reviewed at a later city council meeting on April 14 at 5 p.m.