Girl Scout Cookie Season Kicks Off at Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, Bringing Joy During Challenging Times

Northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—January 22, Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes (GSNWGL) and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) kick off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season during a challenging time. Girl Scouts are stepping up to the challenge and selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe. Even in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, girls are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout Cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program—including taking contact-free pickup and delivery orders through a new national collaboration with Grubhub. Additionally, GSUSA is making online cookie ordering available nationwide on February 1 so consumers who don’t know a Girl Scout can still purchase cookies from a local troop for direct shipment to their homes or donation to local organizations. 

New French Toast-Inspired Toast-Yay!™ Girl Scout Cookie

This year, Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes will offer the new Toast-Yay!™ cookie, a French toast-inspired cookie dipped in delicious icing and full of flavor in every bite. Each delightful, toast-shaped cookie is full of French toast flavor and flair and stamped with the trusted Girl Scouts’ signature trefoil on top. Toast-Yay! gives consumers a new way to celebrate moments of joy alongside other favorites, like Thin Mints^® and Caramel deLites^®. 

Innovative Girl-led Sales Methods

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. 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, Girl Scouts 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. 

“The Girl Scout Cookie season is almost here, and we’re already seeing how our Girl Scouts are using the skills they’ve learned from participating in the Girl Scout Cookie Program. They’re planning, preparing, setting goals, and making decisions on how to be successful entrepreneurs amid the challenges they face due to the pandemic,” says Helen Wronski, Interim CEO of GSNWGL. 

This year, Girl Scouts is also providing new materials as part of their cookie badge program to support girls as they run their cookie business online and via social media, helping them be best equipped to sell during these times. 

Ordering Available Soon Through Delivery Platform Grubhub

This season, Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes is participating in a national collaboration with food ordering and delivery platform Grubhub so girls have an additional way to facilitate contact-free cookie orders. On March 6, 2021, consumers in select areas throughout Northern Wisconsin can order Girl Scout Cookies for pickup or delivery on Grubhub.com or the Grubhub app. A hands-on experience in managing e-commerce, local Girl Scouts will track and fulfill orders, manage inventory, and more, all using Gubhub’s back-end technology. As always, the proceeds benefit the troop and council while providing another innovative way to safely run the cookie program virtually. 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. 

Online Ordering Available Nationwide February 1

GSUSA is making it possible for all consumers nationwide who don’t already know a Girl Scout to purchase Girl Scout Cookies online for shipment to their door. Beginning February 1, customers can enter their zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder to find a local troop to purchase from through the Digital Cookie platform for direct shipment or donation to local organizations. This additional contact-free method supports local girls while keeping their safety and skill building top of mind. And though social distancing measures may keep families and friends apart, cookie customers can share joy and stay connected this season through a gift-box option that ships directly to others via the Digital Cookie platform. 

How to Safely Purchase Girl Scout Cookies This Season

Girl Scout Cookie season at Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes runs January 22^nd – April 4^th. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing Girl Scout S’mores^®, Thin Mints^®, Caramel deLites^®, Peanut Butter Patties^®, Shortbread, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Toast-Yay!™, Lemonades™ or the gluten free Caramel Chocolate Chip in a few different ways:

• If you know a registered Girl Scout, reach out to her to find out how she’s selling cookies in ways that meet local and state protocols. 
• If you don’t know a Girl Scout, visit www.girlscoutcookies.org, text COOKIES to 59618 (message and data rates may apply. Text STOPGS for STOP, HELPGS for help), or use the official Girl Scout Cookie Finder app for free on iOS or Android devices to find socially distant or contact-free cookie booths available in your area. 
• Visit www.grubhub.com/food/girl_scouts to order via contact-free delivery or pick-up from Grubhub, available at select areas throughout Northern Wisconsin beginning March 6. 
• Keep any eye out for Girl Scout Cookie booths – they may be virtual, drive-through, or at local businesses. 

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.