It's a Scoop!

Election freebies draw crowds

by Eve Silberman

Published in November, 2008

The word spread through voting lines on the morning of November 4--Ben and Jerry's is giving away a free scoop of ice cream to celebrate Election Day. At about 2 p.m., a crowd of U-M students flocked in the State Street store, with some turning away in disappointment when they learned they'd have to wait for the freebie--the famously progressive firm, based in cobalt blue Vermont, is offering it only between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.. TeaHaus on Fourth Ave. will drop a dollar off your drink all day if you show them your "I Voted" sticker. Starbucks has an even better deal for the caffeine crowd. "You get a tall free coffee," says a worker named Jeremy at the State Street location, adding that you don't need to need to show an "I Voted" sticker. "It's on the honor system." By 3 p.m., that Starbucks had given away 1,200 drinks.    

[Originally published in November, 2008.]