Shelf-stable foods are the workhorses of any home food business — jams, cookies, spice blends, hot sauces, dry mixes. In Wyoming, these are the foods that unlock every sales channel the Food Freedom Act makes available, including retail shelves and designated agents. Here's how the rules work.
"Shelf-stable" is another term for non-potentially hazardous or non-TCS foods — items that don't require refrigeration or freezing to remain safe. Most state cottage food laws use pH and water activity thresholds to define the line. Wyoming's Food Freedom Act doesn't impose these thresholds directly, but the distinction still matters because it determines which sales channels you can use.
Wyoming's $250,000 annual revenue cap is tied with Florida for the highest in the United States, and it was added as part of the 2020 amendment that opened retail and wholesale sales. The cap is a gross revenue figure — your total income from Food Freedom sales before expenses — not profit.
In practice, very few home food businesses reach this threshold. Most Wyoming producers operate well below it, and the cap is structured generously enough that growing into a real side income or part-time business is comfortable under the Act. If you do approach the cap, you have two options: stop short, or transition into a licensed, inspected operation regulated by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture's Consumer Health Services division. A licensed operation can sell in any channel without the cap — but takes on the full cost and compliance load of commercial food production.
The 250,000-unit cap is a separate ceiling. If you sell low-priced items — say $1 individually-wrapped candies — the unit cap may bind before the dollar cap does. Track both.
Shelf-stable foods unlock every channel the Food Freedom Act allows — this is the category that benefits most from the 2020 and 2023 amendments. Perishable foods are restricted to direct sales only; shelf-stable products can move through retail, designated agents, and everything in between.
Sell directly at farmers markets, from your farm, ranch, home, office, or any mutually agreed location. The foundation of the Act.
Accept orders and payment online. The buyer picks up in person or you hand-deliver within Wyoming.
Shelf-stable products can be sold through third-party retail stores. Products must sit on a shelf separate from commercial products and carry the home-kitchen disclosure label.
A third-party vendor can sell on your behalf at markets or storefronts. Added in the 2023 amendment (SF 102).
Restaurants can sell non-perishable Food Freedom items to end consumers — subject to the same shelf-separation and labeling rules.
You or a designated agent may deliver in person anywhere within Wyoming. Direct hand-off to the buyer only.
The WDA has confirmed that USPS, UPS, FedEx, and any courier shipment are not permitted under the Act — even within Wyoming.
All Food Freedom transactions must occur within Wyoming. Selling or shipping across state lines falls under federal interstate commerce rules.
Wyoming doesn't require a commercial kitchen, inspection, or food safety training for Food Freedom producers. That doesn't mean safety doesn't matter — it means responsibility sits with you. These practices protect your customers, your reputation, and your business.
Log your sales as you go and track your running total against Wyoming's $250,000 annual cap — plus the 250,000-unit ceiling. Get an early warning when you're approaching either limit.
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