Think Outside The Box

Did you ever wonder how those Girl Scout cookies crumbled? Well, here are some interesting facts about those de-lish cookies and where to find them. 

Of the almost 200 million cookies sold across the country last year, Nassau County sold an impressive 1.24 million boxes.   

And as far as flavors go, this year the troops are selling the “Super Six”: Lemon Chalet Cremes, Trefoils, Do-Si-Dos, Samoas, Tagalongs and Thin Mints. As always, at the top of the cookie jar are Thin Mints, and Samoas come in a close second. 

But if you are wondering where all that dough goes at $4 a box, here’s how it’s divvied up:

60 cents goes to the girls and individual troops

11 cents goes to recognition by way of premium incentives

$1.83 goes towards the programs in Nassau County such as summer camps.

45 cents goes towards the operations of the local facilities and volunteer training.

$1.01 is for the cost of making, producing, and distributing cookies by the Little Brownie Bakers, who have been baking for the organization since 1975.

“Some of our local troops have done so well selling cookies that they have saved up enough during a two-year span for an entire group to go to on trips to places like Europe and Disney as well as cruises,” said Donna Rivera-Downey, Director of Marketing for Girl Scouts of Nassau County.

Besides the typical door-to-door campaigns from year’s past, some of the girls have been very inventive with their selling techniques.

“Although we do offer the girls fun cookie costumes to wear during booth sales, some of the troops are very enterprising and decorate vans known as ‘cookie mobiles’ to be more visible and profitable,” Rivera-Downey said.

While the cookie sale officially kicked off in early January and will be finished by mid-April, the biggest push will be booth sales happening during the months of February and March. Here are some supermarkets to stop by to meet your local Syosset and Woodbury Girl Scouts and purchase a box or two:

At Woodbury Stop & Shop various troops will be holding booth sales on February 6, 12, and 13.  In March sales will be held on February 5, 12, 19, and 27.

If you are heading southbound, stop by at the Woodbury Road ShopRite in Plainview on February 6.

However, if you are on a crave-a-cookie hunt and must know at this exact second where to find them, the Girl Scouts have implemented a new tool.

“We are now offering a free ‘Cookie Locator’ mobile app that you can download onto your iPhone or web-enabled smart phones, it will let you know the nearest location, from where you are standing, for a Girl Scout cookie sale,” Rivera-Downey said. 

It's a work-in-progress and they adding new locations daily but for more information about the apps go to:  http://www.littlebrownie.com/app/

So, before you pass them by with your shopping cart, remember it’s much more than dollars and cents that the Girl Scouts come away with, it’s grasping early business skills, interacting with customers, setting and reaching goals, to above all, teamwork.

Next year will be will be the Girl Scouts 100 year anniversary so stay tuned for all the special events leading to this momentous moment.

For more information regarding Nassau County Girl Scouts go to:  http://gsnc.org/