National Ice Cream Month 2027

About National Ice Cream Month

National Ice Cream Month turns the hottest stretch of the American summer into a month-long tribute to ice cream, from soft serve and sundaes to small-batch scoops from local creameries. National Ice Cream Day, on the third Sunday of July, falls in the middle of it.

The month began with Senate Joint Resolution 298 in the 98th Congress, which designated July 1984 as National Ice Cream Month and July 15, 1984, as National Ice Cream Day. President Ronald Reagan signed Proclamation 5219 on July 9, 1984. The proclamation described ice cream as a nutritious and wholesome food enjoyed by more than 90 percent of Americans, noted that the country ate over 887 million gallons of it in 1983, and said nearly a tenth of US milk went into making it. It asked Americans to mark the occasions with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

That designation covered 1984 only, so the month has continued by custom. The International Dairy Foods Association, the trade group for US dairy processors, promotes July as National Ice Cream Month every year and holds an ice cream party on the grounds of the US Capitol during the month. The association reports that US makers produced more than 1.23 billion gallons of ice cream in 2025.

Ice cream's American story is much older than the observance. Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home, notes that the popular claim that Jefferson introduced ice cream to the United States is false: there are accounts of it being served in the colonies as early as 1744. Jefferson did leave the first known ice cream recipe recorded by an American, and he served the dessert often at the President's House.

Sources: The American Presidency Project: Proclamation 5219, National Ice Cream Month and National Ice Cream Day, 1984, Congress.gov: S.J.Res.298, 98th Congress, International Dairy Foods Association: July is National Ice Cream Month, Thomas Jefferson's Monticello: Ice Cream. How we check dates.

How to mark National Ice Cream Month

• Make a different homemade ice cream each week of July, starting with a simple vanilla custard base.
• Visit a local creamery, dairy bar or family-run scoop shop and ask what's made on site.
• Host an ice cream social for neighbors, coworkers or a community group, with everyone bringing a topping.
• Read the 1984 proclamation and compare its figures with today's ice cream statistics.
• Try a frozen dessert from another tradition, such as Italian gelato, Indian kulfi or Mexican paletas.

National Ice Cream Month dates