Serving vegan ice cream to the public...

Sandwiches

Ice cream sandwiches are great to hand out - easy to deal with and people love them, but they do tend to melt quickly. So if you buy these, hand them out right away.

Don't Forget the Scoops!

For serving the actual soy ice cream, you can buy little cups and spoons, or cones, or waffle bowls. We break up the waffle cones and put the ice cream on top.

Keep It Clean

Wear plastic (or rubber) gloves. We also keep a container half filled with water to rinse off the scoops so they would not get too sticky.

And Keep it Cool..

The most difficult part is keeping the soy cream cold.  Some groups use dry ice in the bottom of a cooler. For the launch of our campaign at the California State Capitol, we were unable to use dry ice so we left the ice cream in the freezer until right before the event. We then put the ice cream in coolers with ice. We left the ice in the plastic bags it came in or put it in small sealable bags to prevent the melting ice from weakening the ice cream containers.Even when we hit 112 degrees in Sacramento, it took about 2 hours for the ice cream to really start to melt.

Enjoy Yourself!

Keep in mind that you will probably only be out for an hour or so. At first, people may be timid about coming trying it, but after noticing all of the smiling faces and hearing the positive comments, more people will come over.

Read the positive feedback below from people who have participated!

Where To Go

Picking a good location with plenty of foot traffic is important.  We suggest a Baskin Robbins or Ben & Jerry's location in a busy area. We set up our tables near the front entrance to catch customers as they enter the store.  If you can't get close,  be sure to have signs letting people know that you have free vegan ice cream to draw them to you. Signs might say "Free ice cream," "Try Soy Ice Cream," or "Save a Cow - Try Vegan Ice Cream."

Media

If you decide you want to have the media come out for your event, let us know. We would be happy to help!

Media coverage in the past has been favorable with articles mentioning animal cruelty as the reason we want to encourage people to eat vegan ice cream!

Materials

Viva! is happy to supply you with materials - just let us know what you need! (orders@vivausa.org) We would also love photos to share with others.

Testimonials

"…the soy cream giveaway was a HUGE success! We gave away 60 cones in less than an hour, and everyone loved them!"        -New Mexico

"We encouraged everyone who sampled the [vegan] ice cream to contact Baskin Robbins and Ben and Jerry's. We had a really good time and everyone felt that it was a fun and positive event. We hope to do it again soon!"        -Atlanta, GA

"A bus driver sent a passenger to pick up two servings for himself…People were amazed at how delicious non-dairy ice cream can be."        -Texas

"Almost a full gallon of frozen soy was given out in total. Every recipient (including 2 Baskin Robbins employees) enjoyed their soy, and no animals suffered for these free frozen treats."        -Hawaii

"The demo went great!!! Some of the responses were, ‘it doesn't taste any different,’ and ‘I never knew they made ice cream out of soy.’"        -Minneapolis, MN

"We did not hear one negative comment. Even Ben & Jerry customers thought it was great that we were there…When we told people that we were trying to get B&J's and Baskin & Robbins to carry vegan ice cream, many [people] said, ‘They should!’"        -Portland, OR