Opinion: Let's Be Generous To Our Youthful Idaho Lemonade Makers

With Magic Valley temperatures heating up, expect to see more and more of our young Gem State lemonade entrepreneurs running stands throughout southern Idaho.

In many cases, these children are trying to earn money to finance their summer fun. Days at the public pool, movie theater outings, gaming consoles, a new bike or skateboard, trips to the arcade, and saving up for that first smartphone might inspire these young mixologists.

As I was heading home from a work event on Friday shortly after 1 P.M., I spotted a young man running a snack-and-lemonade stand on Kimberly Road. I tried to unload my equipment at the radio station fast enough to make it back to throw some cash at him, but I was too late, and he had closed down for the day.

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Magic Valley Youngsters Need Our Business At Their Cold Beverage Stands To Finance Summer Fun

Perhaps one way to hang onto some extra cash for these kids would be to pump the brakes on rounding up at all of these checkstands and fast food places for a while, and instead, start buying cold lemonade when you see these children sitting in the heat waiting for people to stop by to quench their thirst.

Something I just found out this week is that some states require permits to serve the public food and beverages in the form of these types of child-operated quick stops. When I was a kid, this wasn't the case where I grew up.

Let's try to be extra generous to our Idaho lemonade sellers this summer.