NORWOOD, Mass. — Bored and looking for something to do this summer, Danny Doherty came up with a plan to raise money for his brother’s hockey team by selling homemade ice cream.
But just days after setting up a stand and serving vanilla, shaved chocolate and Fluffernutter to about 20 people, Danny’s family received a letter from the Norwood Board of Health ordering them to shut down. City officials had received a complaint saying the 12-year-old’s plan violated the Massachusetts Food Code, a state regulation.
“I was surprised and upset,” he said of the letter that arrived on August 5. “I don’t understand it because there are so many lemonade stands and they are not closed.”
Danny’s mother, Nancy Doherty, who had encouraged her son to start the stall on the condition that he donate half the proceeds to charity, was also surprised.
“Someone complained. That was the most disappointing thing for us, that someone felt the need to complain about a child’s attitude,” she said. “It seemed a little, you know, crazy if you ask me.”
Instead of giving up, Danny decided to give away the ice and accept donations for the Boston Bear Cubs, a team that features players with physical and developmental disabilities, including his brother, who autistic.
Then the neighborhood fundraiser became a huge success and became the talk of the town in Norwood, a suburb about an hour’s drive from Boston.
The first day they gave away the ice, they ran out of supplies in 10 minutes, and $1,000 had been raised. Then word of the fundraiser and Danny’s run-in with the city began to spread. Local media ran stories about the stand, which led to dozens of local businesses holding their own fundraisers for the hockey team.
One of them was Furlong’s Candies, which teamed up with Boston radio station WWBX-FM to hold a fundraiser in their parking lot, raising $3,600 on a day when lines were out the door.
“Danny was trying to do something good for his brother’s team — and it’s not just a regular hockey team,” said Nancy Thrasher, co-owner of the store. “They need a lot more equipment. … We thought, this is a perfect situation to get involved in.”
Thrasher said she understood why the stall had to close, but she still felt bad.
“My heart broke for that boy. He was just trying to do something good for his brother’s team,” she said.
City officials said they had received hate mail and death threats over the conflict, which they said had been misrepresented in the media.
They alleged that the family had previously sold their homemade ice cream and even promoted it on social media. The letter, officials said, was sent only after the city received several complaints and unsuccessful attempts to contact the family — something the Dohertys disagree with.
“We had to deal with staff who were upset that they were being threatened. People had gone online and found their addresses, just because they sent a letter after they contacted someone and said, look, there’s a violation here,” said Norwood City Manager Tony Mazzucco. It’s the “first time in recent history” that the city has shut down an ice cream stand, he said, adding that Massachusetts law allows things like lemonade stands and bake sales, but not homemade ice cream.
Mazzucco also said there was a “legitimate health concern” because homemade ice cream could be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes or other bacteria.
Danny’s situation is not entirely unusual. Elsewhere, young people have also been faced with the closure of their lemonade stands or pop-up bake sales — often because they don’t have a business or health permitSeveral states have responded by moving to relax restrictions about such companies.
Nancy Doherty said it was “concerning” to hear council workers had received threats. She said the family had never sold ice cream before, but acknowledged Danny had set up an Instagram account to promote the stall.
“I’m not mad at the city for responding to a complaint,” she said. “I’m shocked that someone complained. This was a small operation. For us to serve 20 friends, family members and neighbors is not a public health action. That’s someone complaining for the sake of being a complainer.”
For Danny, all that attention was a little nerve-wracking. “There were so many people and then they started chanting my name,” he said of the fundraiser at Furlong’s. “I didn’t like it, so I walked out. All the attention was on me and I didn’t like that.”
Ultimately, about $20,000 was raised for the hockey team — more than the club spends in an entire year. The infusion of funds is intended to put the club on “sound financial footing” for the next decade or more.
“The response from the community has been overwhelming,” said John Quill, the Boston Bear Cubs’ executive director and coach, as he accepted a check from a car group at the Dohertys’ home.
“There are a lot of good people,” Quill added. “Danny inspired a lot of people to do good, to be kind and to help us.”