Purity Ice Cream

by Purity Dairies

1986 – 2025 GONE FOREVER

Gone, though Purity itself isn't. Owner Dairy Farmers of America confirmed in February 2025 that it would stop making Purity ice cream and use the plant for Mayfield instead; Purity milk is still sold. The Purity Ice Cream shop in Ithaca, New York, is unrelated.

Last verified Nov 1, 2026

Nashville's hometown ice cream, made from 1986 by the dairy whose milk was already in every Middle Tennessee fridge. In 2025 its owner handed the freezer space to a sister brand, and the cartons melted away.

🧾 One more thingIn 2007 the plant handled 340 different products and piped ice cream mix from the milk plant under the parking lot. Frozen yogurt was 15% of Purity's packaged sales, against about 2% for most dairies.

Filed under: Frozen & Dairy · the ’80s

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📅 Timeline

1986Purity Dairies built an ice cream plant at its Murfreesboro Road headquarters in Nashville in 1986, starting with six workers making eight products.
1998Dean Foods bought Purity Dairies in 1998, with the founding Ezell family staying on to manage it.
2007By 2007 the Nashville ice cream plant had 40 workers handling 340 products, and frozen yogurt made up 15% of Purity's packaged sales.
2008Dean Foods moved Purity's ice cream production out of Nashville to other Dean plants in Tennessee and Alabama starting December 5, 2008, cutting 19 jobs.
2025In February 2025 Dairy Farmers of America confirmed it would stop making Purity ice cream at its Athens, Tennessee plant and use the line for Mayfield ice cream instead.

❓ People also ask

Why was Purity ice cream discontinued?

Owner Dairy Farmers of America chose to turn the Athens, Tennessee plant that made it over to more Mayfield Dairy ice cream, a sister brand. DFA said no jobs would be lost, and the Nashville Post reported Purity was about 10 to 15 percent of its distributor's ice cream sales.

Does Purity Dairies still exist?

Yes. DFA said the ice cream exit did not affect the Purity brand overall, and the Murfreesboro Road plant in Nashville kept producing milk.

Was Purity ice cream still made in Nashville?

Not for its last 16 years. Production left Nashville in December 2008 for other Dean Foods plants, and by 2025 it was being made in Athens, Tennessee.

🧾 Sources

Dairy Foods, Catching Up (2007)
Dairy Foods, Nashville Stars (2007)
Dairy Foods, Purity ice cream ops to leave Nashville (2008)
WSMV, Purity Dairy discontinuing ice cream products, no jobs impacted (2025)

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