Body of News Release
SEPTEMBER 29 UPDATE: The Board approved the first reading of the MEHKO ordinance and scheduled a public hearing for December 8.
Marin County, CA – Marin County Supervisors will consider a new ordinance that budding home chefs in the County hope gives them an entrepreneurial boost around preparing, cooking and selling meals from their homes.
The Environmental Health Services division of Marin County’s Community Development Agency (CDA) will introduce a draft ordinance for a countywide Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) program at the September 29 meeting of the Board of Supervisors.
The draft ordinance establishes a three-year pilot permitting process focused on creating a safe, regulated framework that supports local entrepreneurship and their customers. During the pilot period, the ordinance would cap the number of permits at 100 per year and include $156,000 in grant funding to assist home chefs with the permitting and application process.
The pilot program would begin on March 1, 2027. After two years, the Board would have the opportunity to consider making the program permanent. Thirty percent of licenses would be reserved for residents of lower-resource areas of the county.
Marin’s MEHKO program aligns with state policy and limits the permit holder to 30 meals per day or 90 meals per week and $100,000 in gross annual sales.
MEHKOs allow food businesses of limited scale to operate without requiring that the business carry the expense of a brick-and-mortar space or an approved commercial kitchen. MEHKOs provides an opportunity for a variety of small entrepreneurs such as a new and growing operator, a cook looking to run a business smaller than a full-scale restaurant, or a mobile vendor with a permitted food cart.
According to the County’s Economic Vitaliy Summer 2025 Report, small businesses with up to four employees make up nearly 72% of local establishments. At the same time, dining spending in Marin is growing. Sales tax revenues rose 1.3% for quick-service restaurants and 3.5% for fast-casual food in late 2024. Implementing a MEHKO program directly leverages these trends by lowering the barrier to entry for micro-entrepreneurs, allowing local cooks to capture a share of this growing food demand while expanding small business opportunities across the county.
“Small businesses are the pulse of not only Marin County’s local economy but of our country’s economic vitality,” said CDA Director Sarah Jones. “The MEHKO program opens doors for the culinary talent in our community that otherwise might not have a way in. MEHKOs fills a vital steppingstone toward a full-scale food business that does not exist right now.”
California established the MEHKO program in 2019 in response to the rising new niche in the food landscape, providing local governments an avenue to create a safe local permitting process.
The County began exploring MEHKO in December 2024 with a series of public engagement and outreach opportunities, including public workshops, virtual and direct in-person meeting with local city officials, coordination and collaboration with the Marin Food Policy Council and the COOK Alliance. In addition, CDA included discussion about MEHKOs at the February 10, 2026, meeting about process improvement strategies for the EHS’ Consumer Protection Food Program.
To date, 17 California counties and two independent city health jurisdictions have authorized MEHKO programs in the past few years, including almost all of Marin’s closest Bay Area and regional neighbors; Sonoma, San Mateo, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara. San Francisco has recently begun consideration of a MEHKO ordinance.
The September 29 agenda item is scheduled for the Board’s morning session, which begins at 9 AM. The item is expected to be heard in the late morning. The meeting is taking place in Suite 330 of the Marin County Civic Center at 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael. The meetings are livestreamed on the County website, and participants can contribute in-person or online; details are on the Board’s meeting archive webpage.
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For disability accommodations, please phone (415) 473-6907 (voice), CA Relay 711, or e-mail Environmental Health Services at least five business days in advance of the event. The County will do its best to fulfill requests received with less than five business days’ notice. Copies of documents are available in alternative formats, upon request.