EPHRATA, Pa. — Pennsylvanians and visitors to the commonwealth can now “pursue their scoops” on the commonwealth’s first ice cream trail, a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, PA Preferred® and the Center for Dairy Excellence.
A kickoff event was held today at Fox Meadows Creamery in Ephrata, a multigenerational family farm and ice cream shop. PDA Deputy Secretary Cheryl Cook and DCED Deputy Secretary Carrie Fischer Lepore were on hand to launch the new farm-to-cone experience available at 12 farm creameries in Berks, Chester, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Montgomery and York counties.
The program includes a passport that will allow visitors to check off stops, earning prizes as they traverse the trail. More information about the trail, including a downloadable passport can be found at visitPA.com/scoops. Visitors are also encouraged to share their photos from the trail using #PursueYourScoops for a chance to be featured on visitPA’s website and social media channels.
“We are all in the business of happiness, and there are few things that put a bigger smile on one’s face more than ice cream,” said Deputy Secretary Lepore. “The Pursue Your Scoops Ice Cream Trail provides the farm experiences our travelers crave while adding an extra scoop to the local economy.”
“Buying Pennsylvania ice cream means supporting Pennsylvania farms and Pennsylvania dairy, and we’re happy to encourage commonwealth residents and visitors to ‘pursue their scoops’ on the ice cream trail,” added Deputy Secretary Cook.
The dairy industry is the largest sector of Pennsylvania’s $135.7 billion agriculture industry, contributing $14.7 billion annually to the economy and supporting 52,000 jobs in the state. Earlier this year, PDA, PA Preferred® and CDE joined dairy farmers and industry advocates to kick off “Choose PA Dairy: Goodness that Matters,” a campaign to support Pennsylvania’s dairy industry by educating consumers on how to find and buy locally-produced milk and why it matters to Pennsylvania’s economy and the health of its residents.
“One thing that we are passionate about is helping people know where their food is coming from,” said Andrea Fox, manager of Fox Meadows Creamery. “With children especially, we love allowing them to see that ice cream doesn’t just come out of the freezer; that it’s connected to the land, to the farm and to the cows.”
For travel inspiration, visit pahappythoughts.com, become a fan at facebook.com/visitPA, follow us at twitter.com/visitPA, check out photos at instagram.com/visit_pa, or watch us on youtube.com/visitPA. Follow #PASummerDays or #PASunnyDays for even more can’t-miss summer activities.
Learn more about Pennsylvania’s high-quality, locally grown products — including dairy — at agriculture.pa.gov and papreferred.com.
— Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture