Find home kitchens near you

The basics

A MEHKO lets a home cook prepare, cook, and sell food directly to the public from their private home kitchen — for pickup, delivery, or even eating on site. It's a real, permitted food facility, just a very small one.

• Up to 30 meals per day and 90 meals per week
• Up to $100,000 in gross annual sales (adjusted for inflation)
• One MEHKO permit per private home; no catering or wholesaling
• Operators must be permitted and inspected by their county's environmental health department

The laws

• AB 626 (2018) — Created the MEHKO as a new type of retail food facility in state law.
• AB 377 (2019) — Gave each county full discretion to authorize ("opt in to") MEHKOs in its jurisdiction.
• AB 1325 (2023) — Raised the caps to 90 meals per week and $100,000 in annual sales, and defined what counts as a meal.

Counties opt in individually, so MEHKOs are only legal where your county (or city, like Berkeley and Long Beach) has authorized them.

Where MEHKOs are legal

These jurisdictions have opted in (list changes over time):

See mehko.org's live county list for the latest.

Data notes: Fresno County has no MEHKO program — its Board of Supervisors voted a pilot down on July 14, 2026 (fresnoland.org). Riverside County's public listing comes from an archived county PDF (~6 years old), so details there may be out of date.

Not in your county?

MEHKOs only exist where a county (or city) has opted in. Notably, Sacramento County has not opted in — you won't find listings there yet.

Major counties with no MEHKO program include (short list — not exhaustive):

Want MEHKOs where you live? sacramehko.org is advocating for a Sacramento County opt-in.

Learn more

• mehko.org — counties accepting MEHKO applications
• COOK Alliance — the nonprofit coalition that championed the MEHKO laws
• @mehkofinder on Instagram

Thinking of starting a MEHKO? Contact your county environmental health department to ask about permits in your area.