It’s sweet-treat o’clock! Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and a new era is here: Girl Scout cookies!
Girl Scout Cookies are a longstanding tradition nationwide, where 200 million boxes are sold annually to raise money for local Girl Scout troops. But if you haven’t spotted someone carrying them or seen boxes displayed in front of your local Publix, you’re probably wondering where to find the campus celebrities.
Wait, Where’s My Money Actually Going?
Girls Scouts of the USA is a nonprofit, girl-led organization that focuses on fostering empowerment, leadership, advocacy, and a dedication to service in young girls and teens. Service projects are integral to Girl Scouts. Some common areas of outreach include mental health, food insecurity, healthcare, homelessness, environmental advocacy, and education inequality.
Yet, these projects and experiences aren’t free. To allow girls to continue community service, cookie selling provides meaningful funding for future projects and encourages girls to be young entrepreneurs. Girl Scouts can learn the value of hard work, consistency, and goal setting from an early age.
Girl Scouts also provides opportunities that girls would never experience otherwise. One of the reasons why I write for Her Campus was meeting Emmy-winning journalist Laurie Jennings on a Girl Scout field trip to Local 10 News!
Most of the revenue from cookie sales covers general programming, such as scholarships, volunteer training, and uniforms.
The troop that sold the cookies will receive the second-highest revenue, which can fund service projects and learning or leadership experiences. The rest is directed toward operational costs for the cookie program, regional campsites, and other Girl Scout outdoor facilities. 100 percent of the proceeds stay within a troop’s council or the operating region. This means all funds stay local and are directed toward community efforts.
So, What Are the Flavors?
Flavors offered depend on your region’s council. To locate your council, visit the Girl Scouts website and enter your zip code. There, you can find all the flavors and prices for your area.
FSU is part of the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council, which means the flavors and prices for Tallahassee, FL, are as follows:
Adventurefuls, Toast-Yays (going away next year), Lemonades, Trefoils, Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Sandwich, and Caramel Chocolate Chips are the iconic Girl Scout Cookie flavors. All cookies are $6 per box except for the Caramel Chocolate Chips, which are $7.
You may not recognize some cookie names since some councils use different bakers, but the recipes are practically identical. If you don’t like your region’s options, you can always ask a Girl Scout about her Digital Cookie platform. Digital Cookie allows you to buy cookies online and have them shipped!
To find dietary information about the cookies, visit your council’s website to see which baking company they use. They’ll use either ABC Bakers or Little Brownie Bakers. All cookies are kosher; some are vegan, and some are gluten-free.
Where Can I Find Cookies Then?
Use Girl Scouts’ booth finder and enter your zip code to figure out where and when local cookie booths are happening near you! At FSU, the nearest booths are at Sam’s Club, Publix Oak Valley, Walmart, and even Madison Social!
FSU’s chapter of the Kappa Delta Sorority frequently partners with a local troop to sell Girl Scout Cookies by their house. Other sororities will sometimes host cookie booths, too.
If you don’t want to buy cookies but still want to support a great cause, you can donate a box to military members and their families.
Girl Scout cookie season officially ends on March 16 for Tallahassee, so they won’t be here for long! Happy cookie hunting!
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