Summers will never taste as sweet.
Everyone has their go-to ice cream truck treat — the one that flings you out the door the moment you hear the jingle coming in your direction — and mine has always been Good Humor's Toasted Almond bar.
With an almond core encased by vanilla ice cream coated in almond-flavored crunchy bits, it was the perfect balance of creamy and crunchy, as well as comforting and refreshing. And, critically, it was not too sweet (the ultimate Asian compliment for a dessert).
But, as I just learned while trying to stock my freezer with the toasty-tasting treat for summer, it's been discontinued — for some time now, actually.
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On June 3, 2022, in response to Twitter user @blizzle_j's question, "Where the H*ll did you put the Toasted Almond Bars?" Good Humor tweeted, "Hi there, the Good Humor Toasted Almond bars have unfortunately been discontinued. We apologize to our customers that may be disappointed by this news but are excited to continue offering our customers a wide variety of treats available in stores and ice cream trucks."
To confirm this devastating news, I reached out to Good Humor, which had this to say:
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"At Good Humor, we’re always updating our product portfolio to reflect consumer preferences. A necessary but unfortunate part of this is that we sometimes must discontinue products in order to ensure we can offer customers the best variety of treats nationwide. Due to this, we had to discontinue the Good Humor Toasted Almond bars in 2022. We apologize to our customers that may be disappointed by this news, and while we do not have a current plan to bring back this product, we are excited to continue offering our customers a wide variety of treats available in stores and ice cream trucks."
So, yeah, it's real. After more than 60 years of its glorious existence, Toasted Almond is no more.
For a quick bit of cake-coated history, by 1961, when Unilever purchased Good Humor, its product line had grown to 85 flavors or combinations, including Toasted Almond, Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Éclair, and then, in 1992, the company relaunched those three classic offerings.
The first person I had to tell was my dad, who first introduced me to the unique treat in the ‘90s when I was a kid, and had eaten it as a kid, too. We bonded over our shared love of Toasted Almond every summer when the ice cream truck came down our street. I got a SpongeBob Popsicle or Choco Taco (RIP!) every now and again, but usually, the sound of the ice cream truck meant it was "Toasted Almond Time."
“This is a dark day in my life. The ringing of bells in my childhood neighborhood always heralded that Good Humor Toasted Almond was at hand," he tells me over text. "Chocolate Éclair and Strawberry Shortcake were favored by some, but nothing in life was better than that guy in the white hat and uniform reaching through that tiny door in the side of the truck and magically extracting that perfect Toasted Almond on a wooden stick."
And he's not alone: Many on social media have echoed his frosty feelings.
"I will never buy anything Good Humor again until these are brought back. A modern tragedy," tweeted one person in response to the news.
"This right here is a damn crime against humanity," tweeted another.
"Please bring them back!!! This was the favorite flavor among many! I grew up eating these with my dad, we need them back!!" wrote another Twitter user, who seems to have had a similar childhood to mine.
"hi there good humor! i think this is possibly the worst decision youve ever made :) kindly bring them back and i promise to single handedly make it worth the investment <3 if not then i can guarantee ur business will continue to decline severely from this point on. no pressure !" tweeted someone else, rather ominously.
And then, on Sept. 12, 2022, the Change.org petition was launched: "Bring the Good Humor Toasted Almond Bar Back," by Tammy Regan.
"Good Humor made the poor decision of discontinuing their Toasted Almond bar stating it was 'less popular across the country'. Many have said that due to the lack of stock in stores, this helped perpetuate that thought," Regan writes in the petition's description. "This flavor is a favorite among many, including my 91-year old mother. ... I am hoping that with enough signatures, Good Humor will see how popular their Toasted Almond bar is and bring it back."
As of this writing, it has 1,705 of its 2,500-signature goal.
Fortunately, a quick Google search tells me it's still available on some grocery sites, like Instacart and Stop & Shop.
"I may have to buy a new freezer and hoard as many as possible before I say goodbye to this iconic dessert," my dad says.
He and I will have to limit ourselves to one Toasted Almond a summer for the foreseeable future — until Good Humor decides to bring it back. (It's not an "if," it's a "when," I'll keep telling myself.)
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. Here are more fan-favorite foods, discontinued:
