For many months, I poured my heart into building something beautiful for my community. What started as a small dream became a little farmstand filled with homemade baked goods, fresh eggs, simple  jams, kindness, and connection. Families stop by on slow Saturday mornings. Neighbors wave from their cars. Children run up excited to pick out cookies, books, and lemonade. What I created was never just a stand — it became a place that brought people together.

Like many families today, I was trying to find a way to survive financially while doing something meaningful. I worked hard to follow the rules and do things the right way. When I was told I could not bottle lemonade, I listened and changed my entire setup so I could make fresh lemonade over ice directly for customers instead. I adapted because I wanted to cooperate and continue serving my community safely and responsibly.

But despite trying my best to comply, I am now facing additional roadblocks that threaten the future of my small farmstand and lemonade stand.

This stand is not a large corporation. It is not a chain business. It is one woman working long hours, baking late at night, setting up early in the morning, and trying to create something honest, local, and welcoming. It supports local ingredients, local makers, and creates joy for people in our town. So many members of this community have told me that stopping by the stand has become part of their week.

Small farmstands like mine represent something important. They represent hard work, entrepreneurship, family, creativity, and community spirit. They remind people of simpler things — homemade food, neighbors supporting neighbors, children experiencing something wholesome and local.

I am simply asking for fair, clear, and reasonable opportunities for small local businesses like mine to exist.

I want to continue serving my community, creating a safe and beautiful space for families, and sharing something that has brought genuine happiness to so many people.

If you believe small homemade businesses deserve support and if you believe communities should encourage local entrepreneurship, please sign and share this petition.

Your support could help save a dream that means so much not only to me, but to countless people in our community.

Thank you SO much!!!!

Alex Ethridge

Owner of The Garden Pantry Co

Dothan, AL