Kenduskeag Kitchen, et. al. v. Maine Department of Health and Human Services
In late 2022, Maine state regulators shuttered a small home food business serving healthy, prepared meals to a rural community with no other sources of prepared healthy food. The Maine Department of Health and Services claimed that Kenduskeag Kitchen, which sells prepared meals from a home to members of the rural community of Kenduskeag, Maine, must obtain a food establishment license. To obtain the license, DHHS said Kenduskeag Kitchen is required to have a full, commercial kitchen, which it cannot afford.
Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF), in support of Kenduskeag Kitchen and other members, maintains that the action taken by the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) violates both state law and the state constitution, both of which include measures to protect food freedom.
On March 24, 2023, Kenduskeag Kitchen, Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund and a Kenduskeag Kitchen customer filed suit to challenge action by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. The litigation involves the insistence of the Maine Department of Health and Human Services that the Kenduskeag Kitchen, operated by Rhiannon and Nathan Deschaine, must obtain a food establishment license to operate their business out of their home. This violates the Maine Food Sovereignty Act which specifically prohibits the enforcement of such licensing laws if the local government has determined that the business remain unregulated. The parties also allege that this action of DHHS violates the Maine Constitutional Right to Food. The parties also filed a motion for injunctive relief against Maine DHHS to allow the continued operation of this vital community resource, while the parties fight it out in court.
FTCLDF felt confident in the lawsuit against the Maine DHHS because the agency lacked the authority to insist on a food eating establishment license and commercial kitchen in the Kenduskeag community, where leaders had chosen to support food sovereignty. The town does not require any special licenses, permits or regulatory requirements for local food producers.
Nonetheless, the drafters of the Maine Food Sovereignty Act and the Town of Kenduskeag decided to improve on the relevant laws and make it absolutely crystal clear that the kind of food preparation being done by Kenduskeag Kitchen is covered by the law and that the Kitchen was thus not required to obtain any special license or permit. Accordingly, recently the Maine legislature amended the Maine Food Sovereignty Act to ensure that any direct-to-consumer sales of local food may be regulated (or left unregulated) by local governments, regardless of the site of production. In April 2023, the Town of Kenduskeag strengthened its ordinance allowing for local food production and preparation.
These amendments lead to additional legal work, including briefing on the Plaintiff’s renewed Motion for Injunctive Relief and the Maine DHHS Motion to Dismiss. The matter was scheduled for oral argument on January 17, 2024.
April 27, 2023 - Fighting for Food Freedom in Maine: FTCLDF Lawsuit Asserts the State of Maine Has Violated the Food Sovereignty Act
June 12, 2023 - Help FTCLDF Fight for Food Freedom in Maine
September 11, 2024 - New Developments in the Fight for Food Sovereignty in Maine
