University of Guelph United Way campaign organizers have come up with a sweet way to raise money for an organization that helps people in the community while harnessing U of G food expertise. 

A team of volunteers from across the U of G campus have created an exclusive new ice cream called “Lotsa Local Love,” with all proceeds from sales to go to the United Way Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph. 

The new ice cream was developed at U of G’s Guelph Food Innovation Centre (GFIC) and has all the comforting flavours of homemade cookies, with crunchy bits of snickerdoodle and ginger molasses cookies swirled into a honey spice creamy base. 

All the cookies were donated by The Creelman Bake Shop in U of G’s Hospitality Services, while the creamy base is sweetened with honey donated by the U of G Honey Bee Research Centre on campus. 

One thousand pints of the Lotsa Local Love have been churned out and packaged by a team of United Way and U of G volunteers. It is available for sale on the GFIC website for $12 a pint. 

U of G has been a leader in ice cream technology for more than 100 years. Since 1914, the annual Ice Cream Technology course has trained more than 3,000 people from around the globe in the science and art of ice cream-making. It is the only one of its kind in Canada.  

A collaborative effort featuring the best of U of G

Patricia Tersigni, the United Way WDG’s campaign cabinet chair and director of academic programs and policy at U of G, says the plan for the ice cream came together in less than a month. 

“This has been such a collaborative effort from so many people across campus and we are so grateful for everyone who was able to help and get this product ready so quickly,” she said. 

Volunteers with Kahntact marketing contributed to the label design, while volunteers in the School of Languages and Literature provided French translation services for the labels. 

Derek Vella, the director of the GFIC, who helped develop the recipe for Lotsa Local Love with staff and a food sciences co-op student, says using ice cream was a perfect choice. 

“It was truly fun and rewarding to help the United Way and at the same time, share what we do at the Innovation Centre with so many food-related groups within the University,” he said. 

Dr. Mike von Massow, a food economist with the Ontario Agricultural College and faculty co-chair of this year’s United Way campaign at U of G said he was happy to help coordinate the ice cream’s launch and raise money for an important organization. 

“All of us have seen how needs in our community have increased since the pandemic began and how pressures like food inflation have increased,” he said. “As someone who has a family member who recently faced a serious mental health crisis that could easily have led to a housing crisis, I’ve seen first-hand how critically important the services are that the United Way supports, so I’m happy to help.” 

Organizers expect the ice cream to sell out fast, but hope the project will be a good test run for next year when they plan to prepare even more, with the help of food science students and volunteers.  

Lotsa Local Love is available for sale now on the GFIC website.

Students can pick up a pint at select on-campus dining facilities, including Creelman Hall, Lennox-Addington Hall and more.

Other customers can pick up their ice cream at the following locations:

• University Centre (UC) Level 1: Thurs., Nov 10, 3-6 p.m. 
• University Centre Level 1: Thurs., Nov 24, 3-6 p.m. 
• University Centre Level 1: Thurs., Dec 1, 3-6p.m. 
• The SEED (69 Huron St): Mon., Nov 14, 3-7 p.m. 
• The SEED : Wed., Nov 16, 3-7 p.m.