FRANKLIN — For single mom Heather Russinko, the desire to fight for change started with a cake pop.
“I’m a pretty decent baker,” said Russinko, of Franklin. “I have always made cookies and cake pops for birthday parties and things around the neighborhood, and when I started looking for a way to supplement my income, I thought why not start a business out of my kitchen? It would give me some extra money, and I could spend more time with my son. It felt like a good solution to a lot of my problems.”
Thanks to a long-standing New Jersey regulation that prohibits the sale of homemade baked goods, however, Russinko and other home bakers like her have had to put their businesses on the back burner, so to speak, while the issue of legality works itself out at the state level.
Earlier this month, the New Jersey Home Bakers Association, of which Russinko is an active member, sued the state Health Department over rules that require people to have a license before they can sell their home-baked treats.