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‘Free the pickle’: Manchester residents press aldermen to align food rules with state homestead law after cease-and-desist

5968560 · September 2, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

Residents criticized a health‑department cease‑and‑desist letter sent over home‑canned pickles and urged aldermen to amend the city’s decades‑old food ordinance to match New Hampshire homestead/cottage laws. The board referred the matter to committee for review.

Several residents and organizers told the Board of Mayor and Aldermen the city’s enforcement of its food service ordinance has been heavy‑handed and asked the board to amend the municipal code to mirror state homestead and cottage‑food laws.

Daniel Murray, a long‑time Holt Avenue resident, said the Manchester Health Department issued him a cease‑and‑desist over home‑canned “bread and butter pickles.” “For the record, I never said I was selling them,” Murray told aldermen, describing phone calls, a right‑to‑know request and national media attention. “This…

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