Legal-Ade for Lemonade Stands

By Rachel McPherson
June 18, 2018

Every summer, young entrepreneurs across the country set up lemonade stands to make a little money and have some fun. Lemonade stands are a touchstone of American childhood, but this tradition is no match for overregulation: Lemonade-selling kids have been forced to close shop in recent years for not having the proper permits.

Country Time Lemonade, a company known for its lemonade drink mix, has stepped in to make sure that kids can continue to sell lemonade to their communities. The group created a legal team called Legal-Ade to cover fees up to $300 for fines imposed on children who operated a lemonade stand in 2017 or 2018. Country Time will also pay for lemonade stand permits bought this year.

Check out Country Time’s great video announcing the Legal-Ade initiative:

Unnecessary red tape is not just a problem for the summer months. For decades, Phoenix resident Lee Sepanek gave out hot cocoa to the passersby who came to visit his well-known holiday light display. But after the city demanded that Lee obtain a mobile food vending license—yes, to give out powdered cocoa mix and hot water—Lee’s holiday lights went dark in 2017. (Read more about the Goldwater Institute’s efforts to get those lights turned back on here.)

Whether it’s lemonade or hot cocoa, government overregulation has barred well-meaning citizens from offering each other a drink. But as Country Time says in its video: “When life gives you arcane laws, make lemonade.”

Rachel McPherson is a Ronald Reagan Fellow at the Goldwater Institute.