Finals are wrapping up, graduations are commencing, and summer has officially kicked off. And, with the sunny season at our fingertips, I am desperate for beautiful days and warm weather. Summer is also a time for tons of celebrations including our first beach days and dips in the ocean, Memorial Day barbecues with friends and family, our first ice cream cones of the season, and, of course, Pride Month.
As one of the most widely known and recognized celebrations worldwide, Pride Month happens in June as a way to celebrate and uplift all of those in the LGBTQIA+ community. With it, a number of different food brands and companies create pride-inspired limited food items or Pride month deals. But it’s hard to tell which ones are actually doing something to benefit the LGBTQIA+ community, and which ones are just rainbow-washing. To help you celebrate Pride in the most delicious and productive way, here are the brands that are celebrating Pride in a delicious way through food and donations.
Baked by Melissa
Baked by Melissa has one of the most impressive Pride-inspired food items. The Love Bundle includes four 6-packs of Pride cupcakes each with six different rainbow cupcakes wrapped with a in a rainbow packaging. Baked by Melissa will also have Pride Cupcakes, sold in packs of 25, 50, or 100 and Rainbow Effect Cupcakes, offered in 100-pack of cupcakes in 18 different flavors. With the sale of each item, Baked by Melissa will donate 10% of proceeds to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in NYC.
Ben & Jerry’s
Ben & Jerry’s is not only known for its creative and tasty ice cream flavors, but also for its activism with issues surrounding social justice, climate change, and voting rights. So, it comes as no surprise that in celebration of Pride Month, Ben and Jerry’s will be offering limited-time treats to raise money for LGBTQIA+ organizations. Although the 2025 Ben & Jerry’s Pride offerings haven’t been announced yet, they will most likely be renaming their well-loved cookie dough ice cream to “I Dough, I Dough” in celebration of gay marriage, a tradition they have had since 1989. A portion of the money made from the sale of Pride inspired items will go toward organizations, many of them grassroots, supporting LGBTQIA+ rights such as the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation and the Human Rights Campaign.
Pop-Tarts
Pop-Tarts has also announced its commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community this year with a drop of 450 boxes of NEON Pink Block Party Lemonade Pop-Tarts available on the Pop-Tarts Instagram shop for $5. Additionally, each weekend throughout June, the brand will release an additional 450 boxes of NEON Pink Block Party Lemonade Pop-Tarts for purchase and support and highlight four different local LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC organizations such as The Bronx is Reading and Nobody’s Darling. In connection with these limited edition flavors, Pop-tarts will donate a $10k grant and $2,250 of sales to the organizations it highlights. Lastly, NEONxGLAAD, a partnership aimed at amplifying the voices of BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities, will also receive a $100k grant to help them in the important work they are doing.
Shake Shack
The fast food joint is joining in on the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights this June with a variety of Pride-inspired menu items through its “Sprinkled with Pride” campaign. Through this campaign, they will most likely offer a Pride shake with a limited time flavor and a chance for customers to add sprinkles to the Pride shake or any other shake or frozen custard for just 50 cents. With the sale of each pride themed snack, Shake Shack will donate a portion of its profits to Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National.
MOD Pizza
MOD Pizza is cooking up something special this Pride Month with a limited-edition Pride inspired cake. It will be a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles. A portion of their profits made from the sales of these cakes will be donated to organizations like The Trevor Project and Victoria Pride Society.
Bobo’s
Bobo’s oat bars are one of the hottest granola bars on the market right now and for Pride Month they are delivering the sweetest treat. They are creating a limited edition ‘Pride’ Dark Chocolate Almond Sea Salt Oat Bar in a pack of six for $14.99. They are sold online and in select retailers. The best part? They give 100% of their profits to PFLAG, the largest support, education, and advocacy organization in the nation for LGBTQ+ people and their friends and family.