By: Sylvia Yannsdottir 

We all know Girl Scout Cookies, and we all love them too. They’ve become a well known classic in the United States. They are available to be purchased in January through April every year, and without fail they are always in high demand. Every year, Girl Scouts sell approximately 200 million cookies to Americans, each box costing $6-7, and in total worth an estimated $800 million. It is the largest girl-led entrepreneurial program in the world.

Aside from how much everyone loves buying the cookies, being a part of Girl Scouts is such a great thing for young girls. As of today, Girl Scouts of the United States has over 2 million members. Being a part of Girl Scouts helps young girls develop so many skills, like community engagement, confidence, leadership, and more. Selling Girl Scout Cookies provides great opportunities for practicing communication skills, managing money, and being part of a community. 

Girl Scout Cookies were originally home baked by members with their moms, simply volunteering to be involved in the community. It wasn’t until a few years later, in 1917, when the first box of Girl Scout Cookies was sold. Ten years later, it became normalized for Girl Scouts to go door to door throughout a neighborhood to sell the cookies. 

Nowadays, if you go out to a local grocery store during the spring, you’ll often see a Girl Scout Cookie booth. Typically a few young girls will be standing behind the booth while a few adults will be around for supervision as they sell out of cookies quickly. 

Girl Scout Cookies remain very consistent. Especially by maintaining the consumers favorite flavors every year, like Caramel deLites, Thin mints, Adventurefuls, and my personal favorite, the Lemonades. Typically, you don’t see new flavors getting introduced. 

Overall, Girl Scouts have made a huge impact across the United States in the past 100 years, and in a way, the cookies have brought so many people together. If you haven’t already gone out and bought a box, I highly recommend that you do! Not only would you receive a nice treat, you’d also be supporting the opportunities of so many young girls.