Purity Dairy, a Southern favorite for generations, just announced it’s giving ice cream the cold shoulder and hanging up the scoop for good.
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The Dairy Farmers of America have announced their decision after careful consideration, per Nashville outlet WKRN. Purity Dairy will stop making its ice cream products, but this won’t impact the rest of the brand or its Nashville manufacturing facility, which will continue producing fluid milk.
For Many Nostalgic Southerners, This Marks the End of an Era
For many in the South, Purity Dairy pulling the plug on their ice cream is the end of an era. Purity Dairy started in 1925 as a small family farm and has been in operation ever since. Generations have grown up eating their ice cream.
Of course, some folks also have fond memories of their popular ad campaigns featuring Ernest P. Worrell from the 1980s. One memorable commercial featured the beloved character gleefully “trapped” in a grocery freezer full of the good stuff.
“Don’t send help, you know what I mean?” he tells his pal Vern as he gobbles up heaping spoons of vanilla.
The local ads helped catapult Ernest actor Jim Varney to national fame. He took the character to a popular series of movies and a Saturday morning kids show. Varney even went on to voice characters for Disney and star in the 90s Beverly Hillbillies movie.
Another Southern Ice Cream Brand Emerges as a Frontrunner to Replace Purity
Meanwhile, Southerners can still enjoy ice cream made in Tennessee. Previously, some Purity Dairy ice cream was made at the Athens, Tennessee facility, per WKRN. Now, the facility will shift its focus to producing more Mayfield Dairy ice cream instead.
This works out since Mayfield is also a beloved Southern ice cream brand.
Im a Purity guy but Mayfield Dairy out in Athens TN makes great ice cream as well
— Porter Wiley (@porterwiley) August 23, 2024
Highly recommend gr8 southern brand pic.twitter.com/J3OiaTeUWj
The loss of Purity ice cream feels like yet another blow to a changing South. Still, it’s nice knowing ice cream will still be produced in the same facility out of Tennessee.
The expansion of Mayfield ice cream production ensures job security for all employees at the Athens facility. This decision will protect the jobs of around 80 team members, according to The Tennessean.
In the meantime, Purity Ice cream will be on the shelves for a few more weeks for those who want to stock up.