Have you checked over on the Market garden forum too as that is where most of the selling/pricing discussions are?

Here we wouldn't be allowed to sell most of those items without a certified kitchen inspection and recipe approval. Even at the church bake sales. Sure a few jars of jam/jelly turn up now and then at the occasional yard sale but it is a buy at your own risk situation.

Dave

Sorry but I don't understand why you are apparently taking offense.

I never said you couldn't sell those in your state. Only that I can't so I can't provide you with any pricing info. The laws vary from state to state when vending food to the public be it for profit or not. We have often discussed that here and most are well aware of it..

I also asked - politely - if you have checked out the Market Garden forum as many answers to your questions can be found there and you may not even be aware that it exists. I didn't "direct" you to that forum.

I never said you couldn't it post here. Though now that you mention it, vending/pricing home canned products is not the focus of this forum is it?

I have never sent you a message suggesting that your message or comments are "off target". That is your interpretation.

What I have done, just as I try to do with everyone, is offer you additional sources of information in response to your posted questions.

So perhaps any issues you have with my posts are not entirely my fault.

Dave

Kathy, I understand your statement. I have been on the market side of this forum for several years, but jam/jelly selling isn't really covered there. A few growers/sellers do sell jams/jellies but not many, and all that do do both, not exclusively.

I sell mine in 1/2 pints and pints. 1/2 pints are $4 and pints are $6. I'm not sure if I'm making much money (I sell for profit, with permission from our state, it's allowed here without a certified kitchen if selling from home or farmers market only). I do know that I'm covering my expenses on most of the jars, a few I think I might be just barely.

I don't put any 'cute' fabric or anything, just basic canning jars with 2-piece lids.

I have found that I'm selling much more than I expected, especially peach. I don't do any unusual recipes and am not allowed to give samples.

I also would LOVE to hear from others doing the same thing.

At those prices are you covering your costs? Fruit, sugar, pectin if used, jars, labels, fabric, electricity/energy to process? Since it's for church, maybe you don't care, but take a look to see if the church could get a bigger "donation" by just taking cash instead of canned goods.

I sell at market, I price all jams/jellies at $6 for a half pint since I can sell a pint of berries for $4-5 and I don't use pectin (except in pepper jellies and such), sugar is about 43 cents per lb, electricity is 18 cents per kWh.

Yup, the costs do add up. I believe the average cost of each jar (and it's best for me to just "average" everything -- because some items are more costly than others) is $1.25 - $1.50.

C&H sugar at Costco is 43 cents a pound. (I MUST use that brand, because as a 3rd generation Hawaii-born girl whose grandfather ran the Waialua Sugar Plantation on the North Shore of Oahu, it would be tatamount to a sacrilege to consume beet sugar!)

This year I was able to get the half-pint Ball jars on sale (What?! That almost never happens!) for $6.49 plus tax a box. I purchased 30 boxes. You can bet that I'll look out for that sale next year!

Pectin was a big cost, but now, thanks to Marla of myfamilysfarm, I now know to purchase a few pounds at nuts.com.

I do use electricity for hot water, lights, and the dishwasher; cooking is on the propane-fueled gas cooktop -- and that cost is just the one or two five-gallon tanks each season -- so that's not a huge cost.

I consider the costs of spices, teaspoonfuls of butter for less foaming, the bottle of lemon juice, the glug of spirits (for Peach-Rum Jam) (for Italian Plum Jam with Triple Sec) just a bit of something extra.

I have the fruit from my orchard (varieties of peaches, cherries, plums, pears, Asian pears, and apples) and donated produce from others (rhubarb, beets, and some bell peppers) so that's all free. Of course I share the bounty with others.

We have a great produce store here in town (www.sunnyfarms.com) that grows and sells both their own and other locally grown produce. Oftentimes in the early morning they will have a box of produce (peppers, onions, tomatoes) knocked way down in price. Two weeks ago I got a 20 pound box of local Walla Walla onions for $3.50 (so I made 3 batches of WW onion relish; used many in my bread & butter pickles; and still have some for personal use).

In WalMart last week I happened to find boxes of wonderful Washington peaches for 50 cents/lb. Needless to say, I purchased boxes of those, too. (My trees weren't very full this year.) So, it's Spiced Peaches, more Peach Jam, and Peach Chutney.

I wasn't healthy when my cherries came in, so I hired a young teenage boy to pick me about 150 pounds and they are bagged in the freezer. I purchased 20 pounds of (British Columbia, Canada-grown) blueberries at a local grocery store when on sale for an unheard of price of $2.00/lb. When WalMart had 4-pound boxes of California-grown strawberries at $1.00/lb, I purchased 30 pounds, sat in front of the TV watching two movies, prepared them, and froze them, and they're all ready to use.

The labor and time involved? It's my gift to Myself and the Church and the Community.

To Myself: This is my first summer without my dear husband who passed away. He would often join me in the canning kitchen, keeping me company, and then taking a nap when he tired. I've been canning since I was a girl, and this is my gift to myself of being creative and productive. It makes me smile to see everything I've been able to make. Of course some of the products are for my own use and gifting, too.

To the Church and the Community: In addition to the yearly Bazaar, I spend every Monday working with other church members making things to sell. The time's often spent sewing, knitting, crafting, making Christmas items ... and always spent with loving friends who are there for each other. One goal is to have the fellowship and friendship, and the other is to make items that the community comes to purchase every year. Our bazaar, and the lunch we serve that day, is anticipated by many, many people. We are known for our good quality items. And the community has always been very appreciative of the canned items and all the baked foods that are also for sale. They now recognize me and look forward to seeing what I've made each year, although there are canned items made by others, too. Little do they know that I've been sewing aprons, and making greeting cards, and stitching up little toys, too.

Luckily, I have a canning kitchen in a separate building to do my canning and to store supplies. Ken and I moved from the large house with the orchard (to a smaller condominium because he wasn't well -- and I still live there), but I rent out the house, keeping the use of the orchard and the Canning Kitchen and the Sewing Studio for myself.

So, I'm busy keeping myself active, creative, and productive ... while going through the "Angelina Jolie" surgery/reconstructive surgeries. I figure I have the best world possible, and I love trying new canning recipes and techniques. By the way, tonight I'm dehydrating some of the Italian Prune Plums with my Excalibur dehydrator ... and watching TV! ha ha

And watching from above is my Papa John who is making sure I use C&H sugar; my mother who taught me to make Mango Chutney, Papaya-Pineapple Jam and Guava Jelly; and, my husband who helped me pick fruit in our orchard, helped me pit cherries, and kept me company while the boiling water baths did their number!

It's a great world we live in. Ain't Nature Grand?

If you want to donate your fruit rather than selling it and donating the money, that's your choice. Just think about what you would charge for the fruit that goes into each jar, and don't sell yourself (the church) short - the products may be worth more than what you're charging. Though if you're finding deals like $1/lb strawberries and $2/lb blueberries you're doing very well! Where did you find the jars for $6.49? Here they go up 50 cents a dozen every year - and last year I bought 10 cases!

Your community certainly is benefiting from your labor of love.

I'm sorry for your loss(es) and wish you a speedy recovery.

Don't forget to add the cost of jars, I thought I had plenty, and now I am running out. I add $1 for jar/lid/ring, because sometimes I have to spend more than other times. I'll be stocking up off-season this coming year.

Sheila, I couldn't sell my preserves at the prices that you charge, I'm barely getting what I charge. Some area just won't buy at higher prices. I charge for my fruit the exact amount that I try to sell it at first. My fruit is usually the fruit that didn't sell at market, and I make sure that the customers realize that the preserves are made from the same fruit that had been on the table for sale earlier. And I mention that all of my fruit is local fruit, except the grapes that I picked up this last week (120 lbs of grapes for $28.50).

Perhaps $3.50 a jar is too low, but that's what I expect we'll be pricing things at this year ... again.

The small town near us, Port Angeles, has a great general store -- one that all the fishermen, hunters, and guys especially love. They had a sale of all of the canning jars for $2 less per box. Many people here can their fish (as well as produce). www.swainsinc.com

We are a small town with many retirees and minimum-wage workers. There is no industry here, not many opportunities for high incomes, and commuting 2+ hours (over two bridges or one bridge and a ferry ride) to Seattle for a good job is out-of-the-question. Most of us have chosen to live here because of its beauty, its climate, its outdoor life, and the peacefulness and joy of living around farms and agriculture, and the mountains and ocean.

One of the best things about our Holiday Bazaar is the experience and opportunity to the community to have an enjoyable shopping day. They're able to see and purchase lovely handmade and homemade items and visit with friends, and they know that all the money goes back to St. Luke's Episcopal Church for our outreach program. All of us who toil every Monday are doing so because it's good for us, good for the community, and good for our church.

I am fortunate to have the large orchard to use for myself and family and share the bounty with friends.

And remember, by doing this canning I'm having fun and being rewarded at the same time!

(And here's what friends and I are picking today.)

Look like Stanley Prune Plums, they are wonderful. Makes a great plum sauce, and fantastic baby food (2 grandkids had it daily).

Kathy - you asked about pricing, these are the factors to consider. If fruit is inexpensive where you live (and it is a beautiful area, I went there several times on business in the 80's), and you can get the jars for less, more power to you.

Marla - I could perhaps charge less for strawberry preserves since I sell strawberries for $3/pint but that really is too low - remember I am (not certified) organic. Conventional strawberries sell for that price. I also sell my blueberries for the same price ($4/pint) as local conventional growers do. And I use a lot more fruit since I'm not using pectin. I price most everything at $6/jar since it costs me almost $5 to make a jar, and that's not counting my labor. I could spend more on pectin and sugar, get more yield and drop my price (since my cost per jar will go down, except for jar and electricity costs), but I'm trying to establish a niche. Then again, in my area, I can afford to do that - people don't want to pay extra for the organic fruit, but they'll pay for "artisan" jams.

This post was edited by ajsmama on Mon, Sep 9, 13 at 13:50

There isn't anyone here that prices as high, so I'm in the ballpark for my pricing. I haven't added much for my time either. I don't want to cook the fruit down as much, so pectin is the way for me. with buying bulk, I've saved a bunch, but still use the 'box' price to figure price, so more profit.

My pectin has a life of about 18 months, so I need to watch for another 'free shipping' time.

Kathy, here we have the Michigan Cottage Food Law and so we can sell baked goods and jams/jellies out of our home kitchens. No pickles, salsa, etc., just the basic jams and preserves. Oh, and we can't sell ice or soft drinks. I'm not sure what that is about....

Your prices are on par with those I've seen here, although there sure isn't much "wiggle room" for profit after paying for the jars, lids, ingredients and time.

Annie

Annie,

Our governor here in Washington just signed the Cottage Food Law in July, 2013. I checked the requirements for your state and they are, fortunately for you, much more lenient than ours. We have to pay $230 annually; have a limit of $15,000 income (you're at $20,000, and go up to $25,000 in five years); and I can NOT use my separate canning kitchen ... because it's not part of the same building as my home. Go figure! (The canning kitchen doesn't have home cooking, or animals, or children, and there's no co-mingling with anything else.) And don't you just love not being allowed to sell ICE? That just doesn't make sense to me either! However, at least we have this law here now, and that's helping many people.

But for me it's fine, because I don't sell my items; I donate them to the church and gift them. It's just something that I enjoy doing for myself and for others. That's why my costs of $1.25 to $1.50 per jar is fine. I'm fortunate because I have so much fruit in my orchard; I'm great at finding sales; I enjoy the time I spend creating things and "prettying up" the jars, labels, etc.

The time I spend doing this pleases me; the $300+ I spend on supplies is just another donation or gift to St. Luke's so they receive the full purchase prices; and, everything I make is appreciated by those who purchase and use the products.

I had to freeze some fruit because I wasn't well enough to do anything right after my surgery 8 weeks ago -- so I have cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries in the deep freeze. I'm half-way through my goal of 20 dozen jars ... still have to make: Cherry preserves; Peach-Brown Sugar Jam; Blueberry Jam; Apple Butter; Apple Pie Jam; Dill Pickles; canned Italian Plums; Italian Plum Jam with Triple Sec; Pear Honey; Pear Chutney; Apple Chutney; Watermelon Pickles; Raspberry Jam; ... and anything else I decide I just MUST DO! I'm donating a dozen jars of each variety, and keeping several of each for my use and gifting.

I've enjoyed reading all of your comments and appreciate your recipes. Just wish I could make and (legally) sell some of your Salsa! But at least I can enjoy it for myself and friends!

Kathy

Something that no pricing equation or formula fits in--the satisfaction of doing something you love and choosing to donate it to a cause you find worthwhile.

I'm having a great time playing with different recipes and flavor combinations. I choose to sell half-pints of low-sugar jams at $5 to friends by word of mouth only, just because I all the sudden realized I'd made more jam than we can eat in a reasonable time. Friends like it because it's a quality homemade product, and I at least get enough money to get more jars, and get rid of some extra jars that I don't need for eating or gifting. They know it's out of a home kitchen, I do put ingredient tags on, and maybe next year I'll justify getting serv-safe certified to sell openly. My certification is currently lapsed, but I have done the course before and am aware of proper techniques. I am thankful of the Cottage Foods laws that are being more common.

@Kathy:

I have nothing to contribute about jam pricing, but I just wanted to say that I loved your post about all the non-monetary rewards you get from making products to donate :).

You are so good at articulating and pinpointing exactly what things matter to you -- and reading, I got such a sense of your community in the church, and your approach to life. Thank you :).

And, heck, I had no idea bout Cottage Food laws :).

In Indiana has the cottage food law also, but in certain counties you still have to have the certified kitchen.

In Indiana, to get the 'separate' from living quarters, can be just a door (I'd check into that for you).

We can sell from home or farmers markets only, without the certified kitchen AND an approved canning course. We are allowed to see jams, jellies, baked goods, and certain pickles. Low/no sugar versions of these are in a gray area, some are allowed and some are not. Even the board of health guy (that is the rule enforcer) can't tell me which is which.

He checked mine out last weekend, and everything was fine.

We can sell jams and jellies and baked goods here in Kansas. I sell jams and jellies and charge $4.00 for 1/2 pints and $6.00 for pint jars. I have several different venues where I can get fruit cheaply. I was purchasing my jars in bulk from a local company at a very decent rate but they have decided they won't do small orders anymore (My orders were 70-80 cases of jars at a time but compared to manufacturers and small companies, my order IS small...). I've found a few leads on jars and I've been encouraging my customers to bring the jars back and if undamaged, I pay them a quarter each. Pectin, I buy in bulk on-line. My profits very, depending upon what kind of deals I get on the fruit. The profit is enough at this time to encourage me to keep making and selling. One key to my sales is that my jams and jellies are not the run-of-the-mill peach, strawberry, blueberry. I have researched and hunted down and experimented with all kinds of fruit and spice combinations, use inexpensive liqueurs, brandies and wines to flavor at the end of the cooking process. That's what people really like, the unusual...at least here at my market. Now, it wasn't always that way. Lots of skeptics. Lots of, "why don't you just sell grape jelly?" "Don't you just have plain apricot?" No grape jelly here, nothing wrong with it, I'm just not interested in making it. Yes, I do make the plain jams and that helps with my sales too. So it's a combination of the unusual and the tried-and-true, but more and more towards the unusual as my customer base grows and people become familiar with my product. Thanx for letting me share.

Mine are just the plain old-fashioned flavors. I haven't experimented with mixing flavors, even if I want to eventually. Maybe next year.

I'll be looking for clearance jars this year, but alot of places are sold out now.

I think I've sold over 80 jars, which I think is doing very well for my 1st year, less than 4 months. Shame I can't sell at festivals and such.

This has nothing to do with this topoc except tangentially. I have been making jam for a month or so and burned on jam has gotten onto my new stove and although I have tried everything, seems to be permanent. I assume that you guys have encountered burned on sugar and jam - is there a solution that actually works? I am getting desperate for a solution. Please help!

Thank you!