Danielle Mickelson

Danielle is a farmer, mother of five, a former English teacher, and is a member of her local government in Rolla, North Dakota. She also runs her family‑owned, local farmers market called Lena’s Fresh Farmers Market.

When the Act passed in 2017, Danielle began selling several types of perishable cottage food products at Lena’s. For example, she sold homemade frozen soups, like French onion and tomato basil, that were made with fresh produce from her farm. She also sold low-acid canned vegetables in Mason jars, like carrots, beets, green beans, and peas. And, she sold pizza crust and home-canned pizza sauce in Mason jars and wanted to start selling pizzas.

But, despite having sold perishable and canned foods for the last three years under the Act, the Department now bans Danielle from selling many of her foods.