Girl Scout Cookie Season Kicks Off in Southeastern New England, Bringing Joy During Challenging Times
Girl Scout entrepreneurs in Southeastern New England are selling cookies such as the new Toast- Yay!™ in safe, creative, and socially distant ways, including through the organization’s first-ever national delivery services collaboration with Grubhub.
Nationwide online Girl Scout Cookie ordering will be available February 1.
[Warwick, Rhode Island]—Today, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England (GSSNE) and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) kicked off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season nationally, during a challenging time when many Girl Scouts are 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 including food banks, health care workers and first responders.
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, which GSUSA launched in 2014. 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, girls in Southeastern New England quickly pivoted their sales methods. From traditional booth sales at favorite grocery stores to 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 our council to power Girl Scouts’ essential leadership programming. Cookie share donations go to local organizations, food banks, health care workers and first responders.
“Neither rain, now snow, nor sleet, nor COVID will stop our Girl Scout entrepreneurs from finding creative ways to fuel their cookie business! Much like our beloved postal carriers, Girl Scouts are finding safe ways to ensure that those delicious cookies find their way into the hands of loyal customers because they love running their own businesses! In addition to maximizing a virtual platform, we are most grateful to the partnership we have with GrubHub who will be delivering some of the cookies that girls package up! We are also very appreciative of some local businesses who are letting us use their parking lots for drive-by cookie sale locations where we’ll be using touchless payment methods,” said GSSNE President/CEO, Pam Hyland.
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 Now Available Through Delivery Platform Grubhub
This season, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England 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. Cookies will be deliverable in the Warwick area where consumers 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 Grubhub’s back-end technology. We will be announcing dates and times for deliveries later this month. 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.
This year, Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England will offer the new Toast-Yay!™ cookie, a French toast–inspired cookie dipped in delicious icing and full of flavor in every bite. Toast-Yay! gives consumers a new way to celebrate moments of joy alongside other favorites, like Thin Mints® and Caramel deLites®. 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 is recognized in Southeastern New England from December 14 through March 28. Consumers can support Girl Scouts by purchasing Thin Mints®, Carmel Delites®/Peanut Butter Patties®, Shortbread®, and more 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 safety 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 if they are available in your area.
· Visit www.grubhub.com/food/girl_scouts to order via contact-free delivery from Grubhub in Warwick–dates and times to be announced later in January.
· Girl Scouts of Southeastern New England is grateful to Walmart, GNC, and Petsense for opening space outside their retail locations for Girl Scouts to sell cookies in a safe and socially distant manner, when allowed by local COVID-19 guidelines.
· 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.
