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What is National Ice Cream Day?
National Ice Cream Day falls on the third Sunday of July each year. It was created by US President Ronald Reagan via Presidential Proclamation 5219 in 1984, which also designated July as National Ice Cream Month. While often called "International Ice Cream Day," the proclamation is specifically American.
Why the third Sunday of July?
President Reagan signed Proclamation 5219 on July 9, 1984. The proclamation cited that "ice cream is a nutritious and wholesome food, enjoyed by over 90 percent of the people in the United States" and designated:
- July as National Ice Cream Month.
- July 15, 1984 (a Sunday) as National Ice Cream Day.
The Joint Resolution 298 by Senator Walter "Dee" Huddleston of Kentucky preceded the proclamation. After 1984 the day became fixed as the third Sunday of July each year — this falls between July 15 and July 21.
Note: "World Ice Cream Day" or "International Ice Cream Day" on dates such as April 12 or June 7 occasionally circulate online but have no formal origin, government proclamation or UN designation.
Upcoming dates
National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday of July each year. The next five occurrences:
| Year | Date | Day of week |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | July 19, 2026 | Sunday |
| 2027 | July 18, 2027 | Sunday |
| 2028 | July 16, 2028 | Sunday |
| 2029 | July 15, 2029 | Sunday |
| 2030 | July 21, 2030 | Sunday |
Ice cream by the numbers
From the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and USDA:
- 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream and related frozen desserts produced in the US in 2023.
- The US ice cream industry contributes over $13 billion to the US economy.
- Vanilla remains the best-selling flavour by volume, followed by chocolate and cookies-and-cream.
- New Zealand and the United States lead the world in per-capita ice cream consumption (around 20+ litres per person per year).
- July is the biggest production month of the year for US ice cream makers.
Sources & references
- Reagan Presidential Library — Proclamation 5219 (1984) — the original document.
- International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) — Ice Cream — industry statistics.
- USDA — production data.
FAQs
National Ice Cream Day is the third Sunday of July every year, as designated by US Presidential Proclamation 5219 in 1984. It falls between July 15 and July 21 depending on the year. The whole month of July is National Ice Cream Month under the same proclamation.
It was created by US President Ronald Reagan, who signed Presidential Proclamation 5219 on July 9, 1984. The proclamation designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of July (July 15, 1984) as National Ice Cream Day. Senator Walter "Dee" Huddleston of Kentucky introduced the corresponding Joint Resolution 298.
Several dates float around the internet. The most common dates outside the US are April 12 (claimed as a global "World Ice Cream Day" with no single sourced origin) and June 7. None of these have UN designation. The third-Sunday-of-July date is the only one tied to an official government proclamation.
The US produced around 1.31 billion gallons of ice cream and related frozen desserts in 2023, according to the IDFA. The industry contributes over $13 billion to the US economy and supports approximately 27,000 direct jobs at producers and ingredient suppliers. New Zealand and the United States lead the world in per-capita ice cream consumption.
Vanilla remains the best-selling flavour in the US by volume, according to IDFA member surveys, followed by chocolate, cookies-and-cream, mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip cookie dough. Internationally, fruit flavours, matcha and dulce de leche dominate in their respective regions.
2026: July 19. 2027: July 18. 2028: July 16. 2029: July 15. 2030: July 21. All fall on the third Sunday of July, calculated as the first Sunday on or after July 15.