Girl Scout Cookies- Are They Worth It?

Photographer%3A+Sophia+Knepper+18

Photographer: Sophia Knepper ’18

Laurel Wholihan '16, Staff Writer

Thin Mints. Tagalongs. Samoas. Chances are you have sampled at least one of these many varieties of Girl Scout Cookies. They come in brightly colored boxes and are sold by young women around the country, but are they worth the hype? In recent years, the price of cookies has increased, with some troops charging over $5 a box. The number of cookies found in a seven-to-eight ounce box ranges from fifteen to approximately thirty cookies, depending on the flavor, leaving many to wonder if buying a $3 large box of Oreo’s would be a better use of their money. Additionally, for those who feel that they are being sold short, plenty of cooking websites have publicized do-it-yourself recipes for homemade Girl Scout Cookies, allowing you to put your own spin on the classic treats.

Despite inflated prices, Girl Scout Cookies’ sales provide troop benefits and teach girls valuable financial skills. According to their Wikipedia page, Girl Scouts split their profits between their troops, the Girl Scout Council, and the cookie manufacturer. The money is used to cover troops’ expenditures and activities: the nationwide sale of cookies is imperative to keeping the Girl Scout organization afloat. The annual cookie sales events encourage Girl Scouts to learn about business organization, marketing, and teamwork, which are necessary skills for women looking to enter the workforce. So is buying fives boxes of Girl Scout cookies obligatory this winter? Absolutely not. But knowing that the purchase of a couple green cartons of Thin Mints could be helping the young women of your community is pretty incredible.