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There’s a surplus of girl scout cookies across America, but don’t expect to find any unsold boxes in the Copper Country. Thin mints, tagalongs, and the rest sold briskly according to a press release from the Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes, which covers the Upper Peninsula and much of Wisconsin as well.
The normal selling season for this area is January through March, when the weather is not necessarily the best. Therefore, outdoor cookie stands and other potential sales outlets aren’t relied upon as much. The region’s girls scouts utilized an online system that helped make deliveries more efficient. Over 1.5 million boxes were sold. The Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes were so successful they were able to purchase the surplus that existed in another council.
A New York Times report says a drop in membership on a national scale was also to blame for the glut. In total, 15 million boxes are available. About 80 percent of those never left the warehouse of the Kentucky bakery where they are produced.
The full press release is below.
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Despite what you might have heard Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes are out of sweet treats until 2022.
Every year intrepid Girl Scouts trek through the snow to get the community their favorite Girl Scout Cookies. Even amid the changes and challenges that only COVID-19 could bring, Girl Scouts delivered. Locally, Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes helped over 1.5 million boxes of cookies find their place in homes and businesses throughout Northern Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Through the ingenuity of Girl Scouts finding innovative ways to reach their customers, the generosity and support from the community, and the hard work and dedication of Girl Scout volunteers and staff, GSNWGL was able to completely sell out of their cookie inventory for 2021.
“Our Council takes great pride in our impeccably run Cookie Program, which runs annually January-March. From order-taking and direct sales done by girls with the help of volunteers, to the logistics and inventory management handled by staff – we are good stewards of our finances, use our resources wisely, and are fortunate that we do not have a cookie inventory surplus,” said GSNWGL Interim CEO, Helen Wronski.
Earlier in the Cookie Program, GSNWGL was able to purchase cookies from a sister council to fulfill local cookie orders and in turn help them offset their cookie surplus. The outpouring of support for the cookie program has been overwhelming, and Girl Scouts of the USA has launched a donation-only site to support the Girl Scout Movement after an unprecedented year. Please visit digitalcookie.girlscouts.org/scout/girlscouts2021. When ordering through this online portal, surplus cookies at Little Brownie Bakers, ABC Bakers, and Girl Scout councils will be donated to first responders, food banks and other worthy causes.
Girl Scouts of the Northwestern Great Lakes certainly had a challenging year due to the pandemic and experienced hardships during the 2021 Cookie Program too. But Girl Scouts is so much more than the Cookie Program, and the Council has been working diligently to find ways to ensure the Girl Scout Program continues uninterrupted. Every dollar raised through the Girl Scout Cookie Program, and all funds from generous donors and supporters, stay local. All resources are reinvested back into the local Girl Scout Movement to offset costs to families, support Girl Scout camp and programming, and maintain properties and facilities where Girl Scouts can get an incredible experience. Everything goes back to support girls as they learn, play, and serve the community. If you are interested in supporting Girl Scouts right now, please visit gsnwgl.org to learn more.
