Fear not, Girl Scout cookie fans. If like me, you look forward to your yearly fix of Thin Mints, there is a way to get them even in these days of a pandemic. And, of course, there is the bonus of supporting the scout troops so that when the pandemic wanes, they will be able to get back to a more normal way of scouting.
Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. is feeling the effects of their more woke older members joining Boy Scout troops – now known as Scouts BSA – so it’s good to see the original Girl Scouts adjusting to the restrictions brought on by the pandemic. Door-to-door sales are not possible this year so online sales are the key to success. This created an opportunity for Girl Scouts to partner with Grubhub, the food delivery service. The service will provide contact-free pickup and delivery for customers. Best of all, Grubhub, often criticized by restaurants for charging too high of a fee for serving customers, will waive all fees for the scouts.
“GSUSA is grateful to Grubhub for waiving all fees for the organization to make this new delivery option feasible for sales without reducing troops’ and councils’ proceeds,” the organization said in a press release.
Online ordering through Grubhub and the Girl Scouts’ Digital Cookie Platform begins February 1.
To find out if Grubhub will be delivering Girl Scout cookies in your area, you can enter your zip code on a special page of its website. To find contact-free cookie booths in your area visit www.girlscoutcookies.org or text COOKIES to 59618 (message and data rates may apply), or download the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app.
The Girl Scouts sell roughly 200 million packages of cookies during each cookie season. That amounts to nearly $800 million worth of sales. The program is a great way to teach young girls about entrepreneurship and growing a business. The press release addresses the skills the girls learn from selling cookies.
The Girl Scout Cookie Program has long taught girls how to run a business via in-person booths, door-to-door activity, and the Digital Cookie® platform online, which GSUSA launched in 2014. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the middle of the 2020 season and girls were faced with the same challenges as other small businesses, they quickly pivoted their sales methods. From running virtual cookie booths on social media to setting up drive-through locations to facilitating orders that ship directly to customers’ doors, girls as young as five years old are continuing to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits, stay connected to their communities, and have fun by participating in the cookie program. And, the proceeds from each and every purchase stay local with the troop and its council to power Girl Scouts’ essential leadership programming.
“We’re proud of the resourceful ways Girl Scouts are running their cookie businesses safely and using their earnings to make the world a better place,” said interim GSUSA CEO Judith Batty. “This season, our girls will continue to exemplify what the cookie program taught them—how to think like entrepreneurs, use innovative sales tactics, and pivot to new ways of doing business when things don’t go according to plan. The cookie program is what keeps Girl Scouts thriving in communities across the country and is proven to build girls’ leadership skills and help them become successful in life.”
I still remember selling cookies as a girl. Back in the day, the cookies were not nearly as pricey per box as they are now but the experience stays with the girls. I like that the sales benefit traditional Girl Scout troops. It’s good for girls to have their own troops.
Cookie orders can be placed online beginning February 1.
Beginning February 1, enter your zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder at www.girlscoutcookies.org to purchase from a local Girl Scout troop online for shipment to your door or to donate cookies to first responders and local causes.
Visit www.grubhub.com/food/girl_scouts to find out if and when contact-free delivery from Grubhub is available in your area.
Grubhub pick-up and delivery service will be available in select cities in several states, with the list of states expanding. Currently, the states include Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Texas. It seems like a great idea, especially during the pandemic when so many people avoid grocery stores and other spots where the cookies are often sold. Now the Girl Scout cookies can be delivered just like their groceries are.
📣The 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season is here and many Girl Scouts are selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe. https://t.co/CtE7M1Hu8q
— Girl Scouts (@girlscouts) January 12, 2021