Ice Cream Capitol of the World
How does the Blue Bunny factory rely on local farmers to make ice cream for all of America?
Blue Bunny in Le Mars produces 150 million gallons of ice cream each year using milk sourced from local farmers.
Transcript
[Abby Brown] What do cows and spoons have in common? Here's a really big hint. Today we're visiting the ice cream capital of the world.
(Map marking Plymouth County in northwest Iowa.)
Le Mars, Iowa, has a population of about 10,000 people. So it might surprise you to know that a small town like this produces more than 150 million gallons of ice cream each year. All thanks to Wells Blue Bunny.
Cold treats of all sorts are shipped far and wide to people in all 50 states. More ice cream is made here than anywhere else in the world.
To make all that ice cream, one tanker truck full of fresh milk arrives at the factories in town every hour of every day, all year round.
Where does that milk come from? Cows. And not just any cows. The milk used in the Blue Bunny factories comes from cows milked in a 70 mile radius of Le Mars.
In downtown Le Mars, there's a visitor center, an ice cream parlor, and over 50 ice cream statues.
(A sculpture of a vanilla topped waffle cone with cookies stamped onto the ice cream. Stands at a street corner. One of the codes is a blue three leafed clover with two white stars. The cone reads “1912-1914.)
(A sculpture of a mint ice cream waffle cone stands on a street corner. The mint ice cream has children of different races holding hands around the Earth. The cone reads “Mankind to give a helping hand.”)
(A sculpture of a chocolate and vanilla swirl ice cream waffle cone with red Christmas ornaments on pine tree branches.)
Besides the ice cream parlor, there's a museum upstairs.
Wells Blue Bunny is a family owned business that's been around for over 100 years so there's lots of memorabilia.
There are also a few interactive displays that are fun to explore. This exhibit shows how milk travels from farm to spoon.
The museum has lots of other activities too. It's a fun way to learn a little bit about ice cream, history and science.
Every county in Iowa has its claim to fame. In Plymouth County, it's the city of Le Mars having a big impact on the sweet world of ice cream.
Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.