Massachusetts Announces Ice Cream Trail
In an effort to support local dairy farms and small businesses, the state of Massachusetts has announced plans for an official “Ice Cream Trail.”
“The project has been in the works for over a year and aims to promote local dairy farms that run their own ice cream sales and ice cream parlors that offer products made with local milk,” Boston Today explained.
As of now, the trail is set to launch this July, appropriately during National Ice Cream month. As of yesterday, all dairy farms and local parlors that were interested in participating had to have their official submission complete. There were three different categories that were available to qualify under. They were:
- Dairy farms that serve and sell their single-serve products onsite or for customers to take to-go.
- Dairy farms that sell packaged products of theirs onsite. Products must be made by the privately owned farm, not another retailer’s product.
- Ice Cream shops whose primary business is focused on the sale of single-serving ice cream products for customers to eat onsite where purchased or to take with them to-go.
“This ice cream trail will help to celebrate the Bay State’s dairy industry, support local tourism, and give a sugar rush to ice cream enthusiasts everywhere,” the Massachusetts Association of Diary Farmers said.
The Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail’s Purpose
Primarily, the intent is to help promote the local dairy farms in the area, in addition to the small business parlors. In addition, this should make the summer just a little more sweeter.
“It will result in a digital and print map of participating dairy farms and ice cream shops where people can find locally made scoops, pints, and more,” Boston Today said.
One local dairy farm we hope to see participate here is Hornstra Farms. They are based in Whitman and Norwell, Massachusetts, with other small stations based around the state.
They have a history dating back to 1915, when “The Hornstra Family has proudly provided Grade A quality milk and dairy products to generations of South Shore families,” they explain.
The farms offer homemade fresh ice cream made on the premises. In addition, the store attached has bottled milk, breads, and ice cream pints. Field trips to the farm are offered at different points throughout the year. This allows kids to view the many cows onsite and even observe the process of making the dairy products.
Furthermore, if you love what Hornstra does and live in the South Shore area, you can set up home deliveries. This consists of an old-fashioned milk drunk delivering your milk (and other dairy products) right in the branded silver milk box on your front porch.
