Dished Toronto teamed up with a local soft serve ice cream shop that specializes in funky flavours to give away 100 free cups in honour of National Ice Cream Day.

Under a beating sun and clear blue sky, followers of our food-forward social media brand, Dished Toronto, hit Ossington in droves, hoping to get their hands on a free sweet treat.

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Nearing the end of July, in the peak of summer heat, there's no more appropriate day to celebrate National Ice Cream Day than July 21 — and no more appropriate holiday for Cereal Box Cafe, a small ice cream shop located in the back of Lucky's Bodega, to treat Dished Toronto's followers with a free chilly treat.

With the giveaway set to kick off at 2 p.m. sharp — I, myself, was armed with a megaphone to announce it when the time came — the most eager of attendees began lining up as early as 11 a.m.

The dedication paid off, because they got to be the first to receive a ticket and head into the blissful relief of the ice cream shop's air conditioning before walking away with a heaping cup of ice cream.

Attendees were given the choice of either Cinnamon Toast Crunch (which is reminiscent of KITH's cereal milk ice creams) or Cookie Monster, a vibrant blue vanilla ice cream blended with Chips Ahoy cookies and adorned with a smiling face.

Inside, shop owner Akash and his staff worked tirelessly to keep churning out the treats, with each of the 100 cups needing to be individually created using the shop's singular ice cream machine.

It seems, though, that the people who attended were content to wait. Free ice cream tends to chill you out.

As more and more people walked away with their utterly photo-worthy treats, they proudly posted photos of their well-earned ice creams on Instagram and TikTok.

After just over an hour, all 100 ice creams had been handed out, and were now residing in the hands (and stomachs) of 100 people.

The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon, some attendees remarked that Cereal Box Cafe had earned itself a spot as one of their new favourite ice cream shops in the city.

Others had visited the shop before, and simply relished in being able to pick up a treat from their favourite spot for free.

Want to get in on the next free food giveaway? Be sure to follow @dishedtoronto on Instagram or TikTok or subscribe to the Dished Toronto newsletter to stay up to date.