Locavore Kids Fight City Hall
Two young girls in California are fighting for their right to operate not a frontyard lemonade stand, but a produce stand selling fruits and vegetables from their family’s garden.
What’s wrong with kids making a few bucks by hawking locally grown tomatoes, melons and zucchini on a Saturday morning? It — gasp — violates zoning laws and public safety, according to Gregg Manning, mayor of the East Bay area town of Clayton.
“They may start out with a little card-table and selling a couple of things, but then who is to say what else they have,” Manning was quoted in a report from the area’s ABC News affiliate. “Are they going to have eggs and chickens for sale next?”
The young Lewis sisters Katie, who’s 11 years old, and Sabrina, 3, mentioned no plans to sell chickens — or eggs — in their interview with reporter Terry McSweeney. But the girls aren’t giving up. Since police ordered their stand closed following an apparent busybody’s complaint to city hall, Katie’s been circulating a petition in the neighborhood seeking the right to reopen the mini-farmstand. Dad’s helping too, by asking city planners to craft a solution that would allow his daughters to get back to the vegetable-selling business. The planning commission is set to meet next week.
Such silliness. Is this really the lesson we want to be teaching kids?
What does the mayor think is a viable option? That these girls open a storefront? Please.