Texas sisters Andria, 8, and Zoey Green, 7, wanted to raise about $100 to take their dad to Splash Kingdom as a Father's Day present, so they set up a traditional neighborhood lemonade stand.
According to ABC affiliate KLTV, about an hour later and after a $25 profit, Overton police showed up and shut the lemonade stand down because the Green sisters did not have a "Peddler's Permit," which comes with a $150 fee.
"We had kettle corn and lemonade. The lemonade was for 50 cents and the kettle corn was a dollar, but if you got both it was a dollar." Zoey told KLTV.
And while the city agreed to waive the $150 permit fee for the Green sisters, they found out they also need approval from the health department.
A Texas law prohibits the sale of any food items that could spoil without proper temperature control and lemonade is included. In addition to a permit, a health inspection must take place before a permit is granted.
The law does not have exceptions based on the age of the vendor.
The girls' mother, Sandi Evans, said, "I think that's ridiculous. I think they're 7 and 8 and they're just trying to make money for their own cause."
Meanwhile, Police Chief Clyde Carter said Overton police are just following the law: "We have to follow by the state health guidelines. They have to have a permit if they're going to do the lemonade stands."
Other states have similar laws.
In 2011 a group of kids who set up a lemonade stand outside the Congressional Country Club in Montgomery County, Maryland, were fined $500 for not having a vendor's permit.
0 comments :
Post a Comment