Our Commitment to Sustainability

Bess the CowAt Herrell's®, we know that great artisan ice cream begins with great cows and real ingredients. For almost four decades, Herrell's® has supported local and sustainable farming practices. We believe that buying local helps keep our local community vital.

In our store, we have no food waste! We either bring overstocks to the local survival center or food bank, or we feed local farm animals. Nothing is sent to the landfill.

Herrell's® ice cream is made using rBGH hormone-free dairy cows, and the dairy is purchased through local co-ops. Additionally, we source and purchase many of our fresh ingredients from local farmers. We make our ice cream right in the store so that our customers have the freshest ice cream available.

Protecting our land, water, and environment is a continuing mission at Herrell's®.

Long before sustainability became a media buzzword, Judy was involved in the sustainable farming practices that Herrell's® still supports. As a young girl in the 1960s, Judy worked on her uncle's farm in Pennsylvania, milking the cows, exercising the horses, and maintaining the fields. One of her first riding experiences was not on a horse, but on a dairy cow named Bess. While a student at Hampshire College in the 1980s, Judy worked at a local dairy farm and at Hampshire College's Farm Center. Judy currently works with Green America on a project that would bring non-GMO feed to dairy farmers in New England, and with local and regional dairy co-ops to discuss costs and sustainable yield non-GMO harvests. She is active in farmland trusts and other land protection programs that help maintain land for agricultural use.

Even our hot fudge jars are completely recyclable. When Herrell's® began to sell jarred hot fudge sauces in the 1990's, the jars had a drippy chocolate-scented wax coating on the lid. Although the design was popular and sold well, it was determined that the wax top was not recyclable. We immediately discontinued this packaging to be environmentally responsible.

Former jar designCurrent jar design