For 38 years, Barbara Davis has sold produce from the back of her pickup truck at the corner of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street. But for more than a month that corner where “The Tomato Lady” has worked six days a week from early morning to late afternoon, while smiling and talking with residents and visitors, has been vacant.

On June 8, Davis fell and seriously re-injured her right knee first hurt three years ago. She now needs knee-replacement surgery to get back to work.

Without health insurance or a current income, Davis’ plight and absence from work has drawn an outpouring of community support to help with her personal bills and medical costs associated with her operation and recuperation.

“She’s part of the fabric of downtown Fairhope and part of what makes Fairhope unique,” said Will Carlton Sr., one of the organizers of a barbecue fundraiser next month, who will be cooking more than 500 pounds of pork that night. “She has always been a hard-working lady who just fell on some hard times and needs our help. We’re expecting around 800 to 900 people at the barbecue.”

That fundraiser is scheduled for Aug. 12, the same day that Mayor Tim Kant proclaimed at Monday’s City Council meeting as “Barbara Davis Day,” which recognized Davis for her “service to this community which deserves very special recognition.”

While Kant read the proclamation, Davis stood next to him, leaning on the walker she now must use to stand up.

“Barbara is a testament to what can be achieved in life through dedication,” the proclamation states. “Barbara continues to do what she loves and has a smile on her face for every person she meets.”

In the coming weeks, posters will begin appearing announcing the barbecue dinner, said Roland Neeson, the main organizer of the event. Tickets will be available in local stores, where there are already some jars for donations, he said.

“We’re doing this because Barbara has meant so much to the city of Fairhope,” Neeson said. “She’s our street ambassador. There isn’t anyone who has ever come into contact with Barbara that she hasn’t just made their day a little bit better.”

Neeson said a local surgeon will be donating his services, and the replacement knee may also be donated, but there are many other expenses associated with her surgery and recuperation and that the barbecue is just the first of several efforts on her behalf.

“We’re not going to be able to do this with just one benefit, and we recognize that,” Neeson said. “There will be another effort, probably in the form of a wine-and-cheese event and auction.”

A number of local restaurants and businesses will be contributing to the Aug. 12 dinner, he said.

Davis was visibly emotional at Monday’s council meeting, and during a phone call this week when she talked about her long relationship with the city and its people.

“I have waited on three generations here,” Davis said. “I knew the people were wonderful, but what they are doing now is mind-boggling. I just don’t know what to say about it.”

She also expressed concern about the need for other people to help with her bill such as house payments and medical expenses.

“All these people shouldn’t have to pay for it,” she said. “I’ve made some bad choices about insurance and such. I’ve thought about quitting over the years and finding a job with insurance and benefits.”

Davis fell at her house on June 8, where she laid on the floor four hours before she could get help and an ambulance, she said.

“It got worse and worse for the past three years,” she said of her knee problems that began when lifting a table off her truck. “Then the fall really hurt it.”

Davis was featured last summer in an article about Fairhope in Smithsonian Magazine, recognizing the unique place that “The Tomato Lady” has come to occupy in the city.

“Barbara epitomizes what is special .about Fairhope,” Neeson said. “She’s a person who has touched an awful lot of people around here. One of the things that makes Fairhope such a wonderful place is the fact that we are a small town. But we are not losing our small town virtues and ideals and because of that we tend to take care of our own. Still, for now, as it says on the donation jars around town about Barbara, my ray of sunshine is gone.”

The barbecue benefit dinner for Davis will be held from 5-8 p.m, Thursday, Aug. 12, at Fairhopers’ Community Park across Church Street from the Fairhope K-1 Center. Donations to help her can be made c/o Barbara Davis, First National Bank of Fairhope, P.O. Box 1405, Fairhope, AL 36533. Letters and cards of encouragement can be sent to Davis’ residence at 406 E. First St., Bay Minette, AL 36507.

For more information about the benefit dinner and volunteer opportunities, contact Neeson at 251-591-2568 and rsneeson@earthlink, or visit the “Help our Tomato Lady in Fairhope” Facebook page.