Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that legislation he authored to help make licensing fees more affordable for small-scale food producers has passed the Assembly Agriculture Committee, bringing it one step closer to becoming reality (A.823-A). The bill would create a two-tiered structure for licensing fees for food producers.

“We know that eating locally grown foods is better for our health and our economy,” said Stirpe. “Small-scale food producers face enough challenges with getting their business off the ground, from development to marketing to distribution. Making these licenses more affordable is a good first step to help these small businesses grow.”

The licensing fee is unfortunately out of reach for many small-scale food producers. Currently, the fee structure does not distinguish between a food producer that is based in a home with just a few employees and a plant with 100 workers. Stirpe’s bill creates two categories for licensing fees, setting a fee of $175 per processing facility for small-scale producers. Qualified food producers would be those that are not exempt from licensing, are not a chain store and employ no more than 10 full-time workers.

“By helping more small businesses get started, we’re moving our communities forward and putting money back in our economy – it’s a win-win,” said Stirpe.