7 ms·

This seems to be PR move since not a lot of people can participate and only $300 of the legal fees are reimbursed: > Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. (in

This seems to be PR move since not a lot of people can participate and only $300 of the legal fees are reimbursed: > Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. (including D.C.), who are the parents or legal guardians of a child 14 years of age or younger operating a lemonade stand. Program ends 11:59pm ET on 8/31/18 or when $60,000 worth of offers have been awarded, whichever comes first. For complete Terms and Conditions, including status of available offers, and all other details, visit countrytimelegalade.com. > [From the article]: You can’t even be 13 or younger to participate due to child privacy laws Nevertheless, aren’t there any laws that help such “hobbies“ (considering how little money that should make, and that underage children are voluntarily “working”, one can’t really call it a “business”.

chrisseaton 8y ago
I don’t think it’s just about being a business - it’s also about not being inspected properly for health reasons isn’t it? The same problems exist I believe for volunteers who prepare food for homeless people.
- mdip 8y ago
  I suspect you are correct - I seem to recall that the last time this landed in the national news it was specific to health code, not business permits.
- dannyw 8y ago
  The chances of improperly producing lemonade that also doesn't have a bad taste seems de nullis. It's like banning you from putting on a band-aid on a friend, because that's practicing medicine.
  - davidkuhta 8y ago
    New from Johnson & Johnson: "Band-Ade! Tired of all those lonely nights in jail because you helped a friend with a bandage? Here at J&J we've established a legal fund to ensure..."
  - DanBC 8y ago
    > improperly producing lemonade that also doesn't have a bad taste You can't taste food poisoning. Go smell a fresh chicken. It smells like chicken, even if it's riddled with campylobacter or salmonella.
- Someone1234 8y ago
  > The same problems exist I believe for volunteers who prepare food for homeless people. Let's be honest, cities don't want volunteers feeding the homeless because they want them in someone else's back-yard, so they'll use any regulatory tricks and fines they can (inc. arresting the volunteers) to stop it.
- Shivetya 8y ago
  in most localities the police won't even stop unless someone calls. usually you see that in a HOA but in the one I am subject to they just asked them to be in the cul de sac, it would only shut down when you guessed it, some anonymous neighbor called the cops. so yes you can also lay claim to health issues but let us be honest, you don't have to drink it to play along. as long as its obviously just kids having fun and not parents exploiting kids for cuteness to get money where is the harm. the occupational other license requirements in the US is just insane.
- balabaster 8y ago
  I don't think I'll ever really understand this law. If you invite someone into your home for a meal (that you don't charge for), you're not subjected to health department regulation. How exactly is it different to prepare food for homeless people in your home? What if you invite them for dinner instead of taking it to them? Why are you subject to regulations in one scenario but not the other, given that the end goal is identical - to give away food to people who want to eat. Genuine question... I don't get it.
  - JoeAltmaier 8y ago
    Food regulations are for health. When you feed your own family and friends, fine. When you ramp up to feeding dozens or hundreds, then you can make a whole community sick with one mistake in the kitchen. Its a practical threshold to help avoid spread of disease. Not an ivory-tower absolute. Local municipalities can and do vary on the details.
    - balabaster 8y ago
      Okay, I understand this point. But I also see community events where they grab half a dozen barbecues and feed thousands of people. Untrained volunteers manning the barbecues, that haven't been inspected and lord knows when they were last cleaned. Nobody seems to care, in fact most people in the community seem to love these, me included - paying for the possibility of getting sick just because "barbecuueeee." </homer> There seems to be extremely large grey areas where enforcement turns a blind eye, no matter how the regulations are written. I'm not complaining by any means, I love community barbecues and social events and I would hate to see health regulators interfering with their spirit, but it seems as though they pick and choose what they enforce and ignore based entirely on the mood of the supervisor on any given day.
      - chrisseaton 8y ago
        > but it seems as though they pick and choose what they enforce and ignore based entirely on the mood of the supervisor on any given day More charitably, I'd say they use their professional judgement and assess risk.
mdip 8y ago
Well, if my anecdotal experience -- literally just a few minutes ago -- is any indication, it's a brilliant PR move. I read the story to my wife this morning and she said "Awww, and I just purchased Country Time Lemonaid" and went on and on about how cool it was that they were doing that. I suspect that cases of government bureaucracy interfering with children's lemonaid stands is a pretty rare thing. I don't have any evidence handy but my suspicions originate from the fact that whenever some child's lemonaid stand gets shut down it seems to make its way into newspapers all throughout the country -- if it were a common occurrence, it wouldn't be newsworthy. So it's an easy win - it drums up some happy feelings for the kool-aid equivalent of lemonaid, reminds government bureaucrats that there are better uses for their resources and might result in them having to spend $300, maybe $600 dollars in related complaints if I'm correct about its rarity.
mikeash 8y ago
Of course it’s a PR move. Who would ever think it’s not?
Pigo 8y ago
It definitely doesn't hurt their image, but it also informs the public about an issue they care about. There is only so much they can do, especially because of child privacy laws. But it's getting the word out about regulation they deem unnecessary. I haven't seen a lemonade stand in a long time, but I would cross two streets to support a little entrepreneur.
rory096 8y ago
>only $300 of the legal fees are reimbursed How much do you think these permits cost? At $25 each, 2,400 kids could take advantage of it. They're unlikely to be $300 on average. >You can’t even be 13 or younger to participate due to child privacy laws This is true of everything on the internet. The intent is for the parent to be the one signing up, as it explains in the next sentence.
- FireBeyond 8y ago
  If you've been fined for failing to obtain a business license, is the gist of what they're doing, not paying for the license.
  - rory096 8y ago
    They're doing both. >There are two ways to enter: (1) If your child received a fine for operating a lemonade stand without a permit during the 2017 or 2018 calendar year, take a photo of the fine and a write brief description of what your child's lemonade stand means to him or her, in his or her own words. (2) If you are seeking reimbursement for a permit, follow the instructions to upload the image of the permit for 2018 and a brief description of what your child's lemonade stand means to him or her, in his or her own words. https://www.countrytimelegalade.com/public/fulfillment/rules.pdf https://www.countrytimelegalade.com/public/fulfillment/rules...
ianamartin 8y ago
Of course it'a a PR stunt. And it's a damn good one.
mikece 8y ago
Not just a PR move but a BRILLIANT one! For a commitment of $60,000 in $300 chunks they are going to get millions of dollars worth of free advertising in the form of news stories.
evancox100 8y ago
You (and the author) are misunderstanding the age requirements. It's _only_ open to kids 14 and younger, it just legally goes through their parents. I don't think kids 15 and up are usually the ones running lemonade stands.
wastedhours 8y ago
> who are the parents or legal guardians of a child 14 years of age Essentially confirming that the parent/guardian is over 13 for privacy reasons (you'd certainly hope they would be in any case), not the child operating the stand. It's perhaps one of the most blatant PR moves there is, and it's an incredibly good one.
ErnestedCode 8y ago
Definitely a PR move. What 14 year-old is running a lemonade stand? I would guess there will be zero claims made.

chrisseaton 8y ago

I don’t think it’s just about being a business - it’s also about not being inspected properly for health reasons isn’t it? The same problems exist I believe for volunteers who prepare food for homeless people.

mdip 8y ago
I suspect you are correct - I seem to recall that the last time this landed in the national news it was specific to health code, not business permits.
dannyw 8y ago
The chances of improperly producing lemonade that also doesn't have a bad taste seems de nullis. It's like banning you from putting on a band-aid on a friend, because that's practicing medicine.
- davidkuhta 8y ago
  New from Johnson & Johnson: "Band-Ade! Tired of all those lonely nights in jail because you helped a friend with a bandage? Here at J&J we've established a legal fund to ensure..."
- DanBC 8y ago
  > improperly producing lemonade that also doesn't have a bad taste You can't taste food poisoning. Go smell a fresh chicken. It smells like chicken, even if it's riddled with campylobacter or salmonella.
Someone1234 8y ago
> The same problems exist I believe for volunteers who prepare food for homeless people. Let's be honest, cities don't want volunteers feeding the homeless because they want them in someone else's back-yard, so they'll use any regulatory tricks and fines they can (inc. arresting the volunteers) to stop it.
Shivetya 8y ago
in most localities the police won't even stop unless someone calls. usually you see that in a HOA but in the one I am subject to they just asked them to be in the cul de sac, it would only shut down when you guessed it, some anonymous neighbor called the cops. so yes you can also lay claim to health issues but let us be honest, you don't have to drink it to play along. as long as its obviously just kids having fun and not parents exploiting kids for cuteness to get money where is the harm. the occupational other license requirements in the US is just insane.
balabaster 8y ago
I don't think I'll ever really understand this law. If you invite someone into your home for a meal (that you don't charge for), you're not subjected to health department regulation. How exactly is it different to prepare food for homeless people in your home? What if you invite them for dinner instead of taking it to them? Why are you subject to regulations in one scenario but not the other, given that the end goal is identical - to give away food to people who want to eat. Genuine question... I don't get it.
- JoeAltmaier 8y ago
  Food regulations are for health. When you feed your own family and friends, fine. When you ramp up to feeding dozens or hundreds, then you can make a whole community sick with one mistake in the kitchen. Its a practical threshold to help avoid spread of disease. Not an ivory-tower absolute. Local municipalities can and do vary on the details.
  - balabaster 8y ago
    Okay, I understand this point. But I also see community events where they grab half a dozen barbecues and feed thousands of people. Untrained volunteers manning the barbecues, that haven't been inspected and lord knows when they were last cleaned. Nobody seems to care, in fact most people in the community seem to love these, me included - paying for the possibility of getting sick just because "barbecuueeee." </homer> There seems to be extremely large grey areas where enforcement turns a blind eye, no matter how the regulations are written. I'm not complaining by any means, I love community barbecues and social events and I would hate to see health regulators interfering with their spirit, but it seems as though they pick and choose what they enforce and ignore based entirely on the mood of the supervisor on any given day.
    - chrisseaton 8y ago
      > but it seems as though they pick and choose what they enforce and ignore based entirely on the mood of the supervisor on any given day More charitably, I'd say they use their professional judgement and assess risk.

mdip 8y ago

Well, if my anecdotal experience -- literally just a few minutes ago -- is any indication, it's a brilliant PR move. I read the story to my wife this morning and she said "Awww, and I just purchased Country Time Lemonaid" and went on and on about how cool it was that they were doing that. I suspect that cases of government bureaucracy interfering with children's lemonaid stands is a pretty rare thing. I don't have any evidence handy but my suspicions originate from the fact that whenever some child's lemonaid stand gets shut down it seems to make its way into newspapers all throughout the country -- if it were a common occurrence, it wouldn't be newsworthy. So it's an easy win - it drums up some happy feelings for the kool-aid equivalent of lemonaid, reminds government bureaucrats that there are better uses for their resources and might result in them having to spend $300, maybe $600 dollars in related complaints if I'm correct about its rarity.

mikeash 8y ago

Of course it’s a PR move. Who would ever think it’s not?

Pigo 8y ago

It definitely doesn't hurt their image, but it also informs the public about an issue they care about. There is only so much they can do, especially because of child privacy laws. But it's getting the word out about regulation they deem unnecessary. I haven't seen a lemonade stand in a long time, but I would cross two streets to support a little entrepreneur.

rory096 8y ago

>only $300 of the legal fees are reimbursed How much do you think these permits cost? At $25 each, 2,400 kids could take advantage of it. They're unlikely to be $300 on average. >You can’t even be 13 or younger to participate due to child privacy laws This is true of everything on the internet. The intent is for the parent to be the one signing up, as it explains in the next sentence.

FireBeyond 8y ago
If you've been fined for failing to obtain a business license, is the gist of what they're doing, not paying for the license.
- rory096 8y ago
  They're doing both. >There are two ways to enter: (1) If your child received a fine for operating a lemonade stand without a permit during the 2017 or 2018 calendar year, take a photo of the fine and a write brief description of what your child's lemonade stand means to him or her, in his or her own words. (2) If you are seeking reimbursement for a permit, follow the instructions to upload the image of the permit for 2018 and a brief description of what your child's lemonade stand means to him or her, in his or her own words. https://www.countrytimelegalade.com/public/fulfillment/rules.pdf https://www.countrytimelegalade.com/public/fulfillment/rules...

ianamartin 8y ago

Of course it'a a PR stunt. And it's a damn good one.

mikece 8y ago

Not just a PR move but a BRILLIANT one! For a commitment of $60,000 in $300 chunks they are going to get millions of dollars worth of free advertising in the form of news stories.

evancox100 8y ago

You (and the author) are misunderstanding the age requirements. It's _only_ open to kids 14 and younger, it just legally goes through their parents. I don't think kids 15 and up are usually the ones running lemonade stands.

wastedhours 8y ago

> who are the parents or legal guardians of a child 14 years of age Essentially confirming that the parent/guardian is over 13 for privacy reasons (you'd certainly hope they would be in any case), not the child operating the stand. It's perhaps one of the most blatant PR moves there is, and it's an incredibly good one.

ErnestedCode 8y ago

Definitely a PR move. What 14 year-old is running a lemonade stand? I would guess there will be zero claims made.