‘Tagalong’ To Keep Your Local Girl Scout Troops In The Market.

For generations the Girl Scout organization has been giving girls the opportunity and experience to learn an exceptional number of skills; but most people thank the girl scouts not for their humanitarian or environmentalism efforts but for their delicious cookies. The cookie buying process has changed within recent years. Finding your local girl scout or troop anywhere and everywhere in public has limited, now people are using the technology at their fingertips to purchase online. However, is buying these cookies just anywhere actually harming the opportunities for your local troops? 

Why Your Cookies Should Stay Local 

Something most people probably don’t realize is that the money from these cookie sales 100% stays with the troop you buy from. So, when you buy online, you’re actually taking away from the experiences these children get to have. While roughly 27% of the cookie sales goes to the cookie program itself, the rest stay with the local troop to help fund their outdoor experiences, travel, and scout-led community projects. The entire Girl Scout program centers itself on this yearly fundraiser.  

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Proceeds help your local troops in a few different ways. Not only does the individual scout you bought from get points toward a prize, usually a bicycle or something similar, but it helps the troop as a whole. These individual sales go towards the whole troops goal which funds everything they are able to do throughout the next year. So, before you go buying your cookies online because it’s easier and faster, remember that you’re taking experiences away from your local troops. Delivery is an option no matter where you order, so you might as well make it a good cause if you’re going to spend $6 dollars a box. 

Where To Find Your Local Troop 

With the many different ways of ordering today, you must remember the original way of tracking down a booth in front of your local grocery store. Now, however, there is an easier way to find these booths. Not only can you search your local area on the Girl Scouts website, but they also have a Girl Scout Cookie Finder app.  

Kalamazoo has a few troops; you can visit troop #80019 at these following locations for in-person cookie buying: 

Friday, April 15th: Walmart 6065 Gull Rd Kalamazoo, MI 49048 

Saturday, April 16th: Walmart 6065 Gull Rd Kalamazoo, MI 49048 

Tracto Supply 6285 Gull Rd Kalamazoo, MI 49048 

Friday, April 22nd: CVS Drive Thru 10 E Columbia Ave Battle Creek, MI 49015 

Saturday, April 23rd: Tractor Supply 6285 Gull Rd Kalamazoo, MI 49048 

Sunday, April 24th: Family Fare 1525 W Michigan Ave Battle Creek, MI 49015 

Don’t Order Online, Here’s Why 

So not only is it beneficial to buy locally, but it might also be the most cost-effective way as well. Girl scout cookie season only comes around once a year. Due to this, these delicious treats are in extremely high demand. So, even though the prices are still rising, these cookies are getting overbought on purpose. Usually, we all order an extra box or two because backstock is important, but in our Covid-19 trying times people are buying the majority of the stock. They are doing this, so they can sell it for more online.  

Thrifting and upselling are a common thing, but never before have I seen it with cookies. When my mother went to place her order with our local troop, the S’mores that I asked for were completely sold out. However, the scout suggested looking online. Not on the Girl Scout’s website, but on Amazon. What was originally a $6 box of cookies, quickly jumped to $20 (minimum that I could find!) for a single box. This not only causes the customers to spend more than double what the product is worth, but it also takes profits away from local troops and the Girl Scout foundation in general. 

Which of these delicious cookies keeps you looking out for the annual season? Do you buy from your local troop? If you don’t buy from your local troop, do you help with donating so they can make up their loss in profits for the education this program provides to young individuals? If not, why? If these funds continue to decrease, does Michigan have any other programs that offer the kind of knowledge and life skills these girls learn here?