What Happens To All Of Those Unsold Girl Scout Cookies?

You see the Girl Scouts out and about everywhere this time of year. They are selling their Girl Scout cookies at grocery stores, malls, and of course, their parents work places. But what happens to all of those unsold Girl Scout cookies?

Girl Scout cookies are sold typically from early January right through mid-April. They have increased in popularity and sales over the past 50 years. The original Girl Scout cookies had a lot less variety than what you will see now. Back in the day the most popular Girl Scout cookie was pretty much a good old-fashioned sugar cookie.

The first known Girl Scout cookie sale was in 1917 in Oklahoma.  We don’t know how much money was raised back then, but we do know that now Girl Scout cookies sell over 200 million packages and raise over $800 million dollars.

The most popular Girl Scout cookie is thin mints. That should not come as a surprise to anybody who is a fan because most purchases include at least one box of thin, mints.

Other top sellers are, Caramel deLites, Samoa’s, Peanut Butter Patties, Tagalongs, Do Si Do’s, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, and Trefoils.  Girl Scout bakers are always looking for a new and exciting flavors to add to their repertoire. That’s what makes it exciting to see what is new every year

If a council or troop has extra cookies at the end of the sale, they’ll work with local food pantries and other charitable organizations to distribute the cookies “as a special treat for people seeking food relief services.”

According to the Girl Scouts website, the organization works with its licensed bakers to make sure an annual plan is in place for “responsibly managing leftover cookie inventory.”

Girl Scout cookies will continue being sold online and in-person through April 14. You can find a Girl Scout cookie booth near you or order online.

Girl Scout Cookies are back for their annual season, so this week's 12-Inch Poll is asking you to vote for your favorites.

For those in the know, you know that Cookie Season actually started last month. I took advantage of that fact and put together a little Girl Scout Cookie gift box--complete with hot cocoa mix for dipping--for my kids for Christmas. Cookie Season is such a big deal that Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts actually put out a press release in early December:

Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts kicks-off the 2023 Girl Scout Cookie season as Girl Scouts and their troops rally the community to support the world’s largest entrepreneurial program for girls. The annual cookie program will run through Friday, March 10^th. 

Consumers can support their local Girl Scouts by purchasing their favorite varieties including Thin Mints®, Caramel deLites®, Peanut Butter Patties®, Adventurefuls™, Peanut Butter Sandwich, Lemonades™, Trefoil®, Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookie (gluten-free and peanut-free) and Toast-Yay!™.

In addition to everyone’s quintessential favorites, Girl Scouts has a new, online exclusive cookie, Raspberry Rally, which is a thin crispy cookie infused with raspberry flavor and dipped in the same delicious chocolaty coating as the beloved Thin Mints cookies. This new cookie will be the first in the Girl Scout Cookie lineup to be exclusively offered for online sale and direct shipment only, enhancing girls’ e-commerce sales and entrepreneurial skills.

I can't recall the last time a press release gave me the munchies, but here we are.

For this week's Poll, I've selected a baker's dozen of varieties from both the current lineup and years past. Keep scrolling to see what's in the cookie jar, then cast your vote. And, as always, if I missed your favorite, tell me what a crumb I am on the ROCK 92.9 Facebook or Twitter page.