Adirondack Creamery: Acting Globally and Locally

Paul Nasrani, the founder of the Adirondack Creamery ice cream company, believes in the positive powers of ice cream.

The civic mission of his company is, as he says, “to promote the idea that food – even or especially ice cream – can bridge the gaps in our cultures and in our knowledge and understanding of one another.”

The first flavor to exemplify that mission was the company’s Syrian Date & Walnut Ice Cream, created to aid the International Rescue Committee’s efforts on behalf of Syrian refugees. Bearing a message of “Peace,” in English, Arabic and Hebrew, the carton boldly states, “We are all immigrants.”

After the 2018 mid-term election, Adirondack Creamery issued a purple Black Raspberry ice cream to affirm that our true community is neither red nor blue but the union of the two. “More unites us than divides us,” proclaims the carton.

“Food is something we all can share; when you break bread with someone, even if you’re at opposite ends of the political spectrum, you can talk about the food, and that’s a beginning,” said Nasrani.

This year, one hundred percent of the profits from sales of Syrian Date & Walnut will be donated to the International Rescue Committee to aid refugees from both Syria and Ukraine.

But Nasrani not only thinks and acts globally; he thinks and acts locally.