When it comes to delicious summer fun, the SCOOP San Diego Ice Cream Festival has the perfect recipe down with a notable cherry on top: all of its event proceeds are donated to a local nonprofit.

Southern California’s original and only ice cream festival has been operating annually for six years in North Park, and for its 2024 event, SCOOP founder and CIO (Chief Ice Cream Officer) Daniel Szpak chose Berry Good Food to be the event’s nonprofit beneficiary!

New to the festival this year was our very own “Berry Good Food Land” installation. Working hand in hand with SCOOP, we hosted interactive, hands-on activity stations that engaged festival goers with seed-starting; ingredient observation with microscopes; a coloring station with a Stacy Michelson-designed, SCOOP-exclusive coloring sheet; and the ROVER interactive learning bus.

Culinary Professor and BGF Local Food Leader Award winner Tonya Whitfield and her family’s small business, G’lato, joined us with two “Berry Good Food Land” exclusive bites that showcased seasonal produce from our farm and school garden partners. The first was a Chocolate Dipped Avocado Gelato Pop followed by a Thyme and Clementine Gelato served with a Local Wildflower Honey drizzle. Finally, to leave a lasting impression of “Berry Good Food Land,” we collaborated with Sunsets and Brainwaves to host a live screen printing station where owner/operator Aaron Mays-Barbosa printed an exclusive SCOOP design onto t-shirts for attendees.

Thirty-five amazing vendors took part at SCOOP this year, the festival’s biggest and best turnout! From ice cream to gelato to paletas to shaved ice and beyond, SCOOP’s unique and innovative selections helped all 4,500+ attendees chill out and beat the summer heat. Each of the festival’s participating vendors generously donated their time, talent, and out-of-this world ice cream and frozen delights that collectively raised an astounding $51,000 to support our signature “Seeds for the Future” school garden education program!

A huge thanks goes out to all of  the hardworking volunteers, and community supporters as well as event sponsors Good Start Packaging, A7D Creative Group, Chemistry PR, My Point Credit Union, and Auker Real Estate. We are so thankful for everyone who sweetened the pot by making this incredible donation possible.