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National Ice Cream Month

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Submitted by Rashaan Jeffery, Public Affairs Specialist

SAINT PAUL, MINN, JULY 19, 2022

From the International Dairy Foods Association(IDFA):

July is National Ice Cream Month. Additionally, National Ice Cream Day was celebrated Sunday, July 17. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice Cream Day. National Ice Cream Day has been recognized by the President of the United States ever since.

As the summer reaches peak temperatures in July, Americans celebrate National Ice Cream Month as a way to cool off and enjoy the nation’s favorite frozen treat with friends and family. Ice cream has historically been a key feature of American communities.

Fun Fact: The average American eats roughly 20 pounds of ice cream each year, or about 4 gallons.

According to an IDFA survey, most ice cream companies are family owned and have been in operation for more than 50 years! Here’s more sweet news: Ice cream companies help support the U.S. economy, contributing more than $13 billion directly to the national economy and supporting nearly 29,000 direct jobs that generate $1.8 billion in direct wages, according to IDFA’s Dairy Delivers®. In 2021, ice cream makers in the U.S. churned out more than 1.3 billion gallons of ice cream.

IDFA Ice Cream Stats:

  • In 2020, ice cream makers in the U.S. churned out just over 1 billion gallons of hard ice cream, up 6% from 2019, according to USDA data.
  • In the first five months of 2021, hard ice cream production was running 4% ahead of 2020 levels, according to USDA.
  • The return of foodservice has stoked ice cream production. Some IDFA members who supply ice cream to the foodservice sector report sustained double-digit growth in 2021.
  • Through the first six months of 2021, retail ice cream sales (grocery) continued to flex their muscle and were slightly behind (-2%) the same period from 2020 and well above 2019, according to IRI data.
  • From March through May 2021, sales of frozen novelties like fudgesicles and ice cream bars were a whopping 24% ahead of the same period in 2019.
  • The average American eats approximately 23 pounds of ice cream each year.
  • The United States ranks second in global ice cream consumption only to China—which has 1 billion more people living in its borders.
  • Fortune Business Insights estimates the global ice cream market will reach $91.9 billion in 2027, up from $70.9 billion in 2019—a 30% jump in less than a decade due to the world’s craving for ice cream.
  • U.S. ice cream makers contribute $13.1 billion to the U.S. economy and support 28,800 dairy industry jobs, according to IDFA’s Dairy Delivers.
  • The majority of U.S. ice cream and frozen desserts are made between March and August. July is the busiest production month for ice cream makers.
  • Thomas Jefferson is credited as the first American to write down an ice cream recipe.

America’s top 10 favorite ice cream flavors, according to IFDA:

  1. Vanilla
  2. Chocolate
  3. Cookies N’ Cream
  4. Mint Chocolate Chip
  5. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
  6. Buttered Pecan
  7. Cookie Dough
  8. Strawberry
  9. Moose Tracks
  10. Neapolitan

 

Additional Resources

Home Made Ice Cream Home Made Ice Cream - Food Safety - Minnesota Dept. of Health

National Ice Cream Month - IDFA

The American Presidency Project, Proclamation 5219—National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day, 1984