HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Center for Dairy Excellence is seeking dairy farms with a retail sales operation that includes ice cream to be featured as part of a series of ice cream trails in Pennsylvania. PA Preferred™, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office and visitPA.com, along with the Center, are working to create the Pennsylvania Preferred Ice Cream Trails to increase awareness of and visitation to PA Preferred™ farms with onsite creameries.
“We look forward to working with Pennsylvania dairy farmers in creating the PA Preferred Ice Cream Trail,” said Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bureau of Market Development Director Laura England. “We encourage creameries to participate in the program, which will be launched during July, National Ice Cream Month. This is a great opportunity to promote Pennsylvania products and the great work our dairy farmers do every day to produce high quality milk and dairy foods.”
Each trail will feature an incentive-based passport program that would connect six to eight creameries in a geographic region. Creamery customers would be encouraged to travel the trail, collect stamps on their passports and in turn increase business across the entire ice cream trail.
“Participating in the Ice Cream Trail could open up additional marketing opportunities for our Pennsylvania creameries, which could bring in additional customers,” said Myrannda Kleckner, communications and marketing manager for the Center. “Pennsylvanians are looking to buy local products and this program will showcase those local creameries who are selling product right from their farms.”
Customers would be encouraged to complete the passport by receiving a stamp at every location on the trail and submit them via mail to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture who will distribute the incentive to the customer.
The PA Preferred™ Ice Cream Trails Passport Program is exclusive to PA Preferred™ farms and creameries. Farms included in the trails will be selected from those expressing interest based on their location and product offerings relative to the featured trails. Each participating location would be provided a resources kit which will include passports, stamps and signage which can be used to identify participation. Passports will include rules and redemption procedures for the program. The passports will also be available on visitPA.com.
The deadline for participation interest is April 6. If you have not already indicated interest and want to be a participating farm, or any questions about the program, please contact Myrannda Kleckner, communications and marketing manager at the Center, by emailing mkleckner@centerfordairyexcellence.org or calling 717-346-0849.
— Center for Dairy Excellence
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