This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Business & Tech

How Are You Celebrating National Ice Cream Month?

In 1984, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed July as National Ice Cream Month.

You would not think that a creamy, cool treat as popular and tasty as ice cream would need its own month. President Ronald Reagan thought otherwise when he made his 1984 proclamation to the nation setting aside the month of July to encourage the consumption of ice cream and the third Sunday of that month as National Ice Cream Day.

The International Ice Cream Association reports that 9 percent of all milk produced by our country’s dairy farms goes into the production of ice cream.   

According to the International Dairy Foods Association, the U. S. produces about 1.52 billion gallons of ice cream annually. In the wake of this massive production, the U. S. ice cream industry generates about $21 billion in annual sales and employs thousands of Americans along its path from cow to cone.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The consumer market research firm The NPD Group reports that vanilla is still the most popular ice cream flavor, logging in 27.8 percent of the U. S. sales. Chocolate lags behind it at 14.3 percent and strawberry reports in at 3.3 percent. 

Recent trends in the ice cream market offer new options for celebrating National Ice Cream Month. Co-branding ice cream is a popular innovation in the industry. Now you can choose from a wide selection of new ice creams flavored with premium coffees or chocolates or blended with candy bar pieces. The result is an incredible selection of new options for ice cream lovers.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

Oakville has two local ice cream shops that fit the bill for celebrating National Ice Cream Month in style. at 6065 Telegraph Road and at 4599 Chestnut Park Plaza. Both make their own ice cream on the premises and both have numerous options as to how to celebrate National Ice Cream Month.

If your July celebration calls for a large, formal ice cream presentation, try the ice cream pies and cakes at Rick’s. For a more intimate celebration, try their rich, creamy, cold concretes. At Custard’s 1st Stand, the chocolate malts are a best seller, but the menu is lengthy and may require several visits to sample their wares.

The original poured and baked, waffle ice cream cones have come a long way since served at the 1904 World’s Fair in Forest Park. Today waffle cones roll off production lines at a rate of 150,000 per hour. Know that as you celebrate National Ice Cream Month this July and National Ice Cream Day on Sunday, July 17, you are definitely not alone in your enjoyment of this honored treat.

Source: The NPD Group's National Eating Trends In-Home Database.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Mehlville-Oakville