North Carolina has an official state beverage, an official state marsupial and state flower, so why not a state frozen treat?
N.C. Rep. John Torbett, R-District 108, introduced a bill on Feb. 5 that would designate ice cream as the official frozen treat of the state.
The bill cites numerous ice cream facts, such as how it is consumed by approximately 90 percent of the population in the United States, and how it contributes almost 188,000 jobs and $39 billion to the United States’ economy.
It also supports the motion by claiming that ice cream is important to the North Carolina dairy industry that it is locally produced across the state. North Carolina has not yet adopted an official frozen treat.
Ferrel Guillory, a professor in the UNC School of Media and Journalism, talked about the importance of having state symbols.
“The first thing to say is, there’s some fun to it. Just trying to think of what is distinctive in the culture that people enjoy, but the serious piece of it is those that are linked to tourism — linked to holidays,” he said.
He said he didn’t know if there is something distinctive about North Carolina ice cream that’s different from ice cream elsewhere, but he thinks that the proposal could still be significant.
“It’s part of our civic fabric to try to elevate items, icons, that we enjoy or have some meaning to people. But they can get out of hand too, they can get a little too silly,” Guillory said.
Allison Nichols, a partner at Maple View Farm Ice Cream, was happy that ice cream is being recognized.
