By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
In a startling example of what happens when government runs amuck, health inspectors from the Multnomah County Health Department in Oregon shut down a child’s lemonade stand because she failed to get a $120 temporary restaurant license.
According to The Oregonian, the incident occurred last Thursday when seven year-old Julie Murphy erected a lemonade stand at an art fair in Northeast Portland. She wanted to try her hand at selling lemonade ever since watching a cartoon episode. Her mother, Maria Fife, thought her daughter would sell more lemonade if she set up a stand near the monthly art fair and the two decided to give it a try.
In anticipation of the event, the little girl worked on a sign sporting the words “Yummy” and helped her mother put together a list of all the supplies she would need. When the big day arrived, she went to the fair, armed with bottled water and packets of Kool-Aid.
Fife says that even before her daughter finished making the first batch of lemonade, a man walked up to buy a cup, which was being sold for 50 cents.
Not long afterward, however, a woman with a clipboard came over and asked them for their license. When Fife explained that they didn’t have one, they were told they would need to leave or face a fine of up to $500.
When Fife started to pack up the stand, people in the neighboring booths encouraged her to stay, saying the inspectors had no right to kick them out of a neighborhood gathering.
But that’s not what the two inspectors said who came back and insisted they leave. While people from other booths gathered around to argue with the inspectors, Julie burst into tears and her mother started packing up to leave.
“It was a very big scene,” Fife told Oregonian reporter Helen Jung
Authorities say inspectors were acting within their jurisdiction because state law requires all food vendors to be licensed, even lemonade stands, although most officials won’t target stands on people’s front lawns.
“When you go to a public event and set up shop, you’re suddenly engaging in commerce,” said Eric Pippert, food-borne illness prevention program manager for the state’s public health division. “The fact that you’re small-scale I don’t think is relevant.”
Fife said that while she sees the need for food safety regulation, she believes the inspectors went too far in this case.
“As far as Last Thursday is concerned, people know when they are coming there that it’s more or less a free-for-all,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where they need to be in all of our decisions. They don’t trust us to make good choices on our own.”
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