SoCal’s only ice cream festival returns to San Diego, and it benefits a sweet cause

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Southern California’s only ice cream festival is coming back to San Diego’s North Park neighborhood, and it benefits a sweet cause.

Tickets for Scoop San Diego go on sale Wednesday, and the festival takes place on Sunday, June 28.

The event gathers the best local ice cream, paleta and gelato shops along 30th Street and North Park Way for a sugary tasting experience.

But even sweeter than that is that all proceeds from the festival go toward benefitting local nonprofits.

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Every year, the festival selects a different beneficiary, but starting this year, Feeding San Diego will be Scoop’s ongoing long-term partner.

The nonprofit provides food assistance and free meals to people experiencing food insecurity in the county and will be at Scoop San Diego, raising awareness about what it does.

“This event has become a can’t-miss foodie festival, and we are honored to be aligned with it as it brings joy to so many people,” Director of Communications and Content for Feeding San Diego Carissa Casares said.

Since the festival started in 2019, more than $230,000 has been raised for local nonprofits that assist underserved communities in San Diego.

From the beginning, Founder and Chief Ice Cream Officer Daniel Szpak said the idea was rooted in bringing the community together and doing good.

“I just retired after a 26-year nursing career at UC San Diego, but my passion for ice cream and community runs alongside my work in healthcare,” said Szpak.

While working as an RN, Szpak co-founded Hammond’s Ice Cream in North Park, which was one of the first ice cream shops in the neighborhood and quickly became a local favorite.

“Hammond’s was really where I first saw the power of ice cream as a community builder and a force for good,” said Szpak. “We were the first ice cream shop in North Park, and I loved being a part of people’s everyday lives.”

In order to make the first Scoop San Diego happen, Szpak reached out personally to local ice cream, paleta and gelato shops to ask if they’d be willing to donate samples for a fundraising event.

To his surprise, every single one said yes.

“That first year felt very authentic and community-powered. It wasn’t polished, but it was full of heart, and the response showed us we had created something really special,” he said.

Since then, the festival has grown into a major fundraising event with over 35 vendors and thousands of attendees. It has also expanded to Palm Springs.

Some of the vendors at last year’s festival included Snoice, Tocumbo Ice Cream, Holy Paleta and Little Fox Cups and Cones, which is hosting a fundraising event on Wednesday to kick off the partnership between Scoop and Feeding San Diego.

Szpak emphasized that the event has thrived in San Diego because of the diversity and generosity of local ice cream shops and the community.

“Many of the shop owners and ice cream chefs bring their cultural backgrounds and personal stories into their flavors, which makes everything feel unique and authentic,” said Szpak. “That combination of passionate makers and an engaged community is really what makes the festival possible.”

All of the vendors at Scoop San Diego donate their products and provide volunteers for the event.

“Food insecurity is such a real issue in our communities, and I wanted Scoop to be a way to directly support organizations doing that work,” said Szpak. “Ice cream brings joy, but pairing that joy with real impact is what makes Scoop so special to me.”

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