MOUNT VERNON — The hot days of summer are upon us, and with these hot days comes America’s top summertime cool treat — ice cream. Only a dessert as popular as ice cream, one that is consumed in 90 percent of homes in the nation, has earned enough merit to have a month designated in its honor.
President Ronald Reagan dubbed July as National Ice Cream Month in 1984. He also appointed the third Sunday in July as National Ice Cream Day and stated that these two events should be observed with “appropriate ceremonies and activities.”
More than $21 billion is generated by the U.S. ice cream industry each year, which accounts for thousands of jobs nationwide. Of all the milk produced by U.S. dairy farmers, about 9 percent is used to produce ice cream, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.
