New Cookie Debuts
MARS — Just in time to sink those New Year's resolutions about eating better, Girl Scout cookies sales are ramping up.
Selling began Jan. 6, and this month marks the 100th anniversary of the cookie sales.
And the troop members in the Girl Scouts Western Pennsylvania, which represents more than 22,000 girls from 27 counties, hope to demolish the last of dieters' will power with a new cookie this year.
The highly anticipated Girl Scout S'mores cookies will join classic varieties offered for sale such as Thin Mints and Trefoils.
“It's a graham cracker sandwich with a layer of marshmallow and chocolate inside. It's delicious,” said Amy Huffman of Mars, the manager of the Trefoils service district that covers 197 Girl Scouts in the Mars School District and St. Killian and Holy Sepulcher parishes.
“It's been Thin Mints and Do-Si-Dos, but I think S'mores will give them a run for their money,” said Huffman listing the most popular cookie varieties.
According to the GSWPA, cookie sales began in 1917, when the Mistletoe Troop in Muskogee, Okla., baked cookies and sold them in a high school cafeteria as a service project.
As the Girl Scout cookie program developed and evolved, it not only became a vehicle for teaching five essential skills — goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics — it also enabled collaboration and integration, as early as the 1950s, among girls and troops of diverse backgrounds.
“Selling cookies is more than an annual tradition for Girl Scouts,” said Patricia Burkart, CEO of GSWPA. “As the world's largest girl-led business, the cookie program teaches girls real-world financial and leadership skills while funding the amazing adventures they'll enjoy with friends in Girl Scouts.”
Huffman said, “Girl Scout cookies are one of the big fundraisers. The more sales the girls make, the more money goes into their troop account.”
“Cookie sales allow all girls to be included in troop activities where family budgets may not have allowed it,” said Huffman.
Huffman said cookie sales are made by individual Scouts selling cookies to family and friends and booth sales made outside of stores and businesses.
Trefoils troops will begin booth sales Feb. 24 at three locations: Lowes, 1717 Route 228; Giant Eagle, 206 Seven Fields Blvd.; and Walmart, 20245 Route 19, all in Cranberry Township.
Huffman said her service district also will donate cookies to the Lighthouse, Mars Home for Youth and the Meals on Wheels program, as well as donating cookies to military troops through Operation Food Appreciation.
Girl Scout cookies have become an indelible part of American pop culture and history — and have enjoyed support from some equally iconic figures and notables, according to the GSWPA.
Babe Ruth promoted the Million Cookie Drive during the 1924 World Series. Former First Lady Lou Henry Hoover inspired the first organized national sale of Girl Scout cookies in 1933, and girls used cookie earnings during this time to help communities cope with the debilitating effects of the Great Depression by collecting clothing and food for those in need.
Last year, the 88th Academy Awards had movie stars clamoring to buy and munch on cookies during the telecast.
With the emergence of the Internet and rise of e-commerce, Girl Scouts were eager to harness the power of technology to expand their communication channels.
In December 2014, Girl Scouts responded by launching a safe and scalable, electronic addition called Digital Cookie platform.
To find cookie varieties available locally or learn more about the history of Girl Scout cookies and the Girl Scout Cookie Program, visit girlscoutcookies.org. To join or volunteer, visit gswpa.org.
