Pennsylvania is promoting local tourism and its thriving dairy industry with Scooped: An Ice Cream Trail, which encourages residents and visitors alike to visit 41 creameries across the state.
And, once again, Lebanon County is part of the tour, which launched on May 30 and runs through Sept. 7.
Patches Family Creamery, at 201 Fonderwhite Road, Lebanon, will represent Lebanon County again this year, joining other local and statewide favorites including Perrydell Farm & Dairy in York, the Urban Churn in Carlisle, Harrisburg and Mechanicsburg, Fox Meadows Creamery in Ephrata and Leola, Destiny Dairy Bar at Stover Farms in Carlisle, and Lapp Valley Farms in New Holland and Gordonville.
“Come visit us at Patches Family Creamery,” the family says on a state-run website for Pennsylvania: The Great American Getaway. “We enjoy serving our community with farm-fresh products – fresh from our cows on our dairy farm – whether it is our milk or our hand-scooped premium ice cream that we make on our farm from scratch. We have a little playground for children and animals in a pasture across from the creamery that you can enjoy petting & feeding. We were honored to be voted Best Ice Cream in the Lebanon Valley in 2022. Taste the difference, it’s farm fresh!”
Launched in 2018, the Ice Cream Trail is a partnership composed of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and its PA Preferred program, the tourism office of the Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Center for Dairy Excellence.
“No summer getaway is complete without a scoop of ice cream from a Pennsylvania creamery,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement. “Knowing you’re supporting one of Pennsylvania’s more than 4,000 dairy farms just sweetens the adventure.”
DCED’s Executive Deputy Secretary Mike Hanna Jr. said Scooped “is a fun and delicious way to support Pennsylvania small businesses and our dairy industry.”
Participants in the dairy adventure can plan their trip, learn about the 41 participating creameries, and sign up for free at visitpa.com/scooped. They can also accumulate points to earn prizes, including a commemorative stainless-steel ice cream scooper by visiting five stops and a T-shirt with 10 stops.
Pennsylvania has the second largest number of dairy farms in the United States and is ranked eighth in national milk production, the release notes. The Pennsylvania dairy industry provides more than 47,000 jobs and pumps about $11.8 billion each year into the state economy.
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“The dairy industry is an economic driver for Pennsylvania, and 99 percent of our state’s dairy farms are family owned,” said Emily Barge, communications and marketing manager for the Center for Dairy Excellence. “Each summer, the Ice Cream Trail is a fun way for families from Pennsylvania and beyond to actually meet the dairy farm families who work around the clock, 365 days a year, to produce delicious dairy products and farm-fresh ice cream.”
The promotion is part of Governor Josh Shapiro’s economic development strategy, which prioritizes the tourism and agriculture industries and adopts a new marketing tactics to showcase the commonwealth’s offerings.
Travelers on the Ice Cream Trail are encouraged to share their photos (with the hashtag #PAScoops) on social media.
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