The Girl Scouts Still Have 15 Million Boxes Of Unsold Cookies Left

Girl Scouts Sell Cookies From Street Trucks In New York City

Photo: Getty Images

The Girl Scouts of the USA still have 15 million boxes of their popular cookies unsold, an uncharacteristic problem brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

NPR reports the demand for cookies remained high, but many troops decided not to use their traditional cookie booths due to safety concerns, specifically as the pandemic continued into the spring selling season.

"This is unfortunate, but given this is a girl-driven program and the majority of cookies are sold in-person, it was to be expected," said Kelly Parisi, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the USA, via NPR.

The 109-year-old organization is expected to be impacted by the lack of cookie sales which fund programming, travel, camps and other activities. Typically, the Girl Scouts sell around 200 million boxes of cookies annually, which is equal to about $800 million in sales nationwide.

Rebecca Latham, the CEO of Girl Scouts of New Mexico Trails, said her council had 22,000 boxes unsold at the end of the selling season in late spring, despite the troops coming up with innovative sales techniques to combat the pandemic such as drive-thru booths and contact-free delivery.

Latham said troops in her area sold just under 600,000 cookies this year, which was far less than the 805,000 boxes sold the previous year, and may lead to the council being unable to invest in infrastructure improvements at its camps or fill staff positions.

The council is encouraging people to buy boxes of cookies online through its Hometown Heroes program, which distributes cookies to first responders and health care workers, as well as working alongside organizations such as the New Mexico United soccer team in an effort to reach its sales goal.

Parisi said Girls Scouts of the USA did expect a dip in sales due to the pandemic, but with restrictions constantly shifting, cookie orders placed by local councils with bakers may have been too optimistic.


Sponsored Content

Sponsored Content