BROOKLYN HEIGHTS — When you pick up your free Häagen-Dazs ice cream Tuesday for free cone day, you'll be doing it for a good cause.
The ice cream maker, which opened its original location in Brooklyn Heights in 1976, is encouraging its customers to support "the humble honey bee" by planting native wildflowers, shrubs, or trees and to protect their existing homes. "Bees love untidy areas of gardens, tree stumps, and open sandy grounds."
The connection to the free kiddie-size ice cream scoop? The bees "help pollinate over one-third of the world’s crops, they also help in the creation of one third of our most beloved flavors like strawberry, rocky road, mango, and even our classic vanilla. Unfortunately, bee populations have been disappearing at an alarming rate for nearly a decade, putting the future of our food system at risk."
Participating locations will take part in Häagen-Dazs Free Cone Day from 4 to 8 p.m.