Do you love summer? And ice cream? Then you are going to love today. Thats because Friday, June 20, is officially the start of summer in North America, and in celebration of that, grocery store giant Kroger is giving away 92,000 free pints of ice cream. Yep, you read that right: 92,000.
Heres what you need to know, including how to get your free pint.
Summer begins in the northern hemisphere
Astronomical summer officially begins on the summer solstice every year. It’s the day that the sun travels its highest arc across the northern hemisphere. Due to that arc, the summer solstice is also the longest day of the year.
However, one note about the summer solstice: Depending on where you are in the northern hemisphere, it actually may not occur until a day later than it occurs in some countries. This is because of the time zone difference between countries.
As ABC News points out, the sun will be at its highest point in relation to the northern hemisphere at 10:42 p.m. ET tonight, which means that the summer solstice will occur in all countries in North America and Central America today, June 20.
However, 10:42 p.m. ET June 20 is June 21 in countries across the Atlantic, which is why astronomical summer starts a day later in those countries.
But youre really here for free ice cream news, right? And Kroger is in North America, which is why it is celebrating the summer solstice by giving away 92,000 pints of free ice cream today, June 20.
How you can get a free pint from Kroger
Kroger is giving away 92,000 free pints of ice cream today to celebrate both the start of summer and its new limited-time Summer in a Pint collection of ice cream. This new summer collection of ice cream includes four flavors:
Italian Style Summer Fizz
Fireside Nights
Sandy Shores
Poolside Tan Lines.
With Krogers ice cream giveaway today, you can try any one of those flavors for free. However, the grocery store chains free ice cream pint giveaway isnt limited to only one of those four flavors. Customers can get a free pint of the new Summer in a Pint collection or any classic Kroger Brand ice cream flavors. Heres how:
Go to FreeKrogerIceCream.com.
Choose the Kroger-owned store that you want to get your free ice cream pint from. In addition to Kroger locations, you can get a free pint from Krogers other brands, including: Bakers, City Market, Dillons, Food 4 Less, Fred Meyer. Frys, Gerbes, Jay C Food Store, Marianos, Metro Market, Pay-Less Super Markets, Pick’n Save, and Smiths Food and Drug.
Youll then be able to download a single-use digital coupon good for one free pint of ice cream.
The coupons will go live using the steps above at 12 pm EST today, Friday, June 20. As long as you get your digital coupon, you can use it at the Kroger family of stores listed above any time between today and July 4.
However, note that these digital coupons are limited to 92,000, so once they are gone, so is your chance of getting a free pint of ice cream.
The free pint promotion is available in all U.S. states except California, Colorado, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Nevada.
And if youre wondering why Kroger decided to give away 92,000 pints, its because there are 92 days in summer this year, and Kroger is giving away 1,000 pints for every day of the summer period.
Kroger faced Juneteenth backlash this week
While Kroger may win a lot of customer goodwill for giving away bucketloads of ice cream today, yesterday the company faced notable backlash after a Georgia location offered Juneteenth-themed cakes that appeared to be quickly and haphazardly decorated.
One widely circulating video showed multiple Kroger Juneteenth cakes with their icing appearing to be sloppily applied. One cookie cake read “Free @ Last.
Today reported that Kroger has removed the cakes in question and issued an apology to customers, stating, Juneteenth holiday marks a commemoration and celebration of freedom and independence. However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize.
The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is headquartered in Cincinnati. It runs more than 2,700 stores across America. In March, the company reported its full-year 2024 results. During fiscal year 2024, the company reported $147.1 billion in sales. As of the close of the market on Wednesday, KR stock is up 7% since the beginning of the year. Over the past year, KG shares have climbed 26%.
