About Cottage Kitchen Finder
Cottage Kitchen Finder was created to connect local home-based food producers with people who are looking for fresh, homemade, and locally crafted goods.
We provide a simple way for cottage food businesses to be discovered. Whether they are selling baked goods, fresh produce, jams, eggs, or other homemade items, we help customers find these products right in their own communities.
Why This Exists
This isn’t just another directory.
It comes from real experience.
Growing up on a 25-acre farm, we had an abundance of crops and eggs. From the outside, it might have looked like a good life, and in many ways, it was. We ate well, we had enough, and there was a quiet kind of happiness in that. But behind it all was a constant struggle that most people never saw.
I watched my parents fight the weather, rising costs, and long days that never really ended. My father, Lamar, worked a full-time job, then came home and worked the farm until dark. My mother, Billie, worked just as hard, not only helping in the fields but also in the kitchen. She canned vegetables, made jellies and jams, baked pies and cakes, and did everything she could to turn what we had into something we could sell or eat. Many evenings were spent late in the kitchen, trying to make it all work. My brother, Lamar, helped with what he could do. He survived scarlet fever in 1944 at the age of 5 and was never a normal child after that.
We had a roadside stand like so many small producers. Some days were good. Many days were not. I remember watching my mother sit there, hoping someone would stop. Sometimes they did. Often they didn’t.
And when things didn’t sell, we didn’t waste them. We couldn’t afford to. We gave a lot away. What we could not give away, we fed to the animals. Good food, food that took real effort to grow, ended up being discarded simply because we could not get it into the hands of people who wanted it.
One moment has stayed with me all my life. My father came home one day, frustrated in a way I had not seen before. He told us he had asked some coworkers if they would like fresh produce. Their response was not yes or no. It was, “When are you going to bring it to me?”
That was the moment something shifted. He never asked again. Not because he did not have something valuable to offer, but because the burden had been placed entirely on him after everything he had already done.
That is the part people do not see. Growing the food is only half the battle. The real struggle is getting what you worked so hard to produce into the hands of people who will value it.
Now, at 75, after a lifetime of seeing that struggle up close and after recently selling the farm, I carry those memories with me. I created Cottage Kitchen Finder because of that life. Because I understand what it feels like to work hard, have something good to offer, and still struggle to find a way to sell it and use it.
This is not just a website. It is my way of helping close that gap so that today’s small producers do not have to fight that same uphill battle alone.
That experience led to a simple idea. If people could easily find local producers, fewer good products would go to waste, fewer families would struggle to sell what they worked so hard to create, and more families could eat better locally grown food.
What We Do
- Help local cottage food producers become visible in their own communities
- Provide a simple, searchable way for customers to find nearby homemade goods
- Remove the burden of marketing from small producers
- Make it easier for buyers and sellers to connect directly
Our Mission
To make it easier for small, home-based food businesses to be seen, supported, and successful without requiring them to become marketers, tech experts, or large-scale operations.
Built for Real People
This platform is designed for:
- Individuals selling from their home kitchen
- Small producers with limited time and resources
- Customers who want real, local food instead of mass-produced alternatives
Simple. Practical. Useful.
A Personal Commitment
This is more than a project. It is a way of giving back.
By helping others avoid the same struggles we faced, Cottage Kitchen Finder aims to make local selling easier, more visible, and finally worth the effort for the people doing the work.
Get Started
If you are a home-based food producer, this platform is here to help you be seen and to make it easier for people in your community to find what you offer.
If you are looking for fresh, local food, take a moment to explore what is available near you and support the people who are putting in the work every day.
Small efforts matter. Supporting local producers matters.
This is one small step toward making that connection easier for everyone.
