VICTORVILLE: Can you hear that? It’s the sound of tummies rumbling at the start of the Girl Scout cookie season!
The Girl Scouts of San Gorgonio Council (GSSGC) begin selling cookies January 26. GSSGC has about 80 troops with 1,000 girls in the High Desert eager and ready to satisfy the Victor Valley’s cookie cravings through the end of the sale on March 16.
“For our girls, and just as it was for me, the Cookie Program is their very first job. I’m forever grateful that selling cookies taught me how to handle money, set goals, and grow a dream into a business,” said Cynthia Breunig, CEO and president of GSSGC.
This year, along with their regular lineup of Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, Caramel deLites, Shortbreads, Thanks-A-Lots, Lemonades, and Peanut Butter Sandwiches, the girls are rolling out two new cookie flavors.
The first is a Cranberry Citrus Crisp, the first all-occasion cookie that brags 9 grams of whole grains and deliciousness. The second will have the gluten-free cookie-loving crowd racing to the nearest Girl Scout booth.
The new Chocolate Chip Shortbread is certified gluten-free, which makes it suitable for those with Celiac disease. It has a melt-in-your-mouth, buttery explosion of flavor. Preliminary taste tests have certified these new Girl Scout cookies as extremely delicious.
The downside? Yes, unfortunately there is one. The gluten-free Chocolate Chip Shortbreads are only available in limited quantities, so cookie fans had better stock up fast.
“It’s a pilot program, which is why we have a limited supply of only 36,000 boxes, and only 20 councils nationwide are selling this product. We’re extremely lucky to showcase them to the Inland Empire,” said Elizabeth Locke-Thomas, vice president of product and retail sales at GSSGC.
And if 36,000 boxes sounds like a lot of cookies to you, just consider last year alone local Girl Scouts sold 2.5 million boxes in only 43 days.
Locke-Thomas added, “We expect to sell out of gluten-free shortbread within the first two weeks of the cookie sale, so if you’re looking to get some, make sure you visit a Girl Scout cookie booth the first weekend of February. Our Super Bowl booths will be in front of grocery stores.”
All cookies will retail for $4 per box, including the gluten-free shortbread. All the money generated from the sale stays within the area to help fund various program and troop activities.
High Desert residents can use a handy cookie booth locator at https://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/find_cookies.asp to find their nearest Girl Scout cookie booth or call (909) 307-6555. Members of the press are invited to witness Mega Drop on January 25, 2014 (a.k.a. “Super Saturday”) when millions upon millions of Girl Scout cookies are delivered into the eager arms of local Girl Scouts. To attend the Mega Drop event, please contact Elizabeth Locke-Thomas at ELockeThomas@gssgc.org.
