My name is Mrs. Q. I am a cookie-aholic.
I come from two parents who can’t say no to cookies. My dad puts back lots of unhealthy foods like donuts, cookies, and tons of bread. My mom can eat a whole sleeve of Thin Mints in a night.
Last year, cookies were my drug of choice. They got me through long nights of blogging. Even though I would eat balanced meals, I would undermine it by eating lots of “healthy” cookies. Once I had one cookie, I would eat at least five more. My husband finally put his foot down. He called for a cookie ban in the house: no cookies were to be bought or made by either of us. He has terrific willpower and is not into dessert, preferring to eat seconds at dinner. I come from a family that is dessert-focused so it took some adjusting for me when we first started dating.
Actually, the cookie ban worked really well.
But now that I’m gf/cf, I can still find store-bought cookies I can eat. Sometimes I defy the cookie ban and buy them. The package of cookies above is my usual drug of choice. I can eat this package in 24 hours. It’s binging. I know I do it. I can’t stop because they taste so good.
That brings me to Girl Scout cookies. I’ve read three posts (Spoonfed, The Lunch Tray, and Mama Says) about how bad Girl Scout cookies. Of course, I agree.
However, the thing that bothers me most about Girl Scout cookies is that most people don’t buy just one box. The last time I bought Girl Scout cookies was two years ago in March. This was before my nutritional epiphanies, but on some level I knew they were bad for me. I bought four boxes from a coworker anyway. Would you ever buy four boxes of cookies at once at the grocery store? Somehow buying Girl Scout cookies normalizes over-buying…and overeating.
After I bought those boxes, I came back later in the week, like a junkie looking for a hit. Since it is a once-a-year kinda thing, I wanted to load up. I asked her if she had any extras or leftovers. She did and I bought a package of cookies that I never would have ordered because I didn’t like that flavor normally. But I needed to get my fix.
So. The cookie ban is on again here at home. And Girl Scout cookies? Probably not the best choice for young girls to sell for a whole buffet of reasons. Why can’t they do popcorn (whole kernel) like the Boy Scouts? What should they sell instead? Do you buy Girl Scout cookies? What foods do you binge on?
I'm always torn on the cookie issue. I understand it's steeped in tradition, but either they need to make a better product or scrap the whole thing. They're just sending the wrong message in a time where Americans over eat and make poor food decisions.
Pre-celiac diagnosis, I'd buy a lot of Girl Scout cookies, perhaps 12 boxes. I'd check with each child to see what kinds they wanted. Extras would go in the pantry or the freezer; I bought so many because they were a once-a-year thing and it would help out my nieces. Sometimes I'd pick up another box or two from the neighborhood girls.
This year? I don't know. Maybe I'd still get some boxes for my boys (the non-celiac cookie eaters in the house). My nieces are no longer selling, so it would just be if any neighborhood girls come calling.
I remember as a child devouring thin mints as I devoured a good book. Even as an adult I'd allow myself some, although now I can't. I don't think it's the worst thing in the world as an indulgence.
The lemon Glutino cookies are delicious, though. Even as a celiac (or gluten-intolerant person like you), we can still have some yummy cookies.
The Boy Scout popcorn isn't necessarily that healthy either, by the way. I typically buy some of that, too, to help out a kid I know, but it's pretty pricey for popcorn and not anything special.
@MPV61
I will happily suff myself with as many boxes of Girl Scout cookies I can get my hands on. Basically I will eat ALL the thin mints and caramel delights. All of them. Feel free to send those cookie-selling scouts my way!
I looooooved girl scout cookies and am devastated that I can no longer eat them since I have Celiac disease. However, it is probably a good thing since I am a lot like you and can never eat just one (or two or three) cookie! If you are interested, there are some decent gluten free "girl scout cookie" recipes that look pretty decent and can definitely be made healthier!
I have never had a problem with girl scout cookies and never will. This is a matter of willpower, not of whether girls have any business selling cookies. Can I take down an entire box of thin mints? Hell yes. Do I do it regularly? Not a chance. Once every few years at most. Am I aware that it's bad for me when I finally splurge on cookies? Absolutely. Do I care? Not one bit.
It's like hitting the brakes on pecan pie and stuffing on thanksgiving. Is it bad for us? Yes. Do we care? No. Why? BECAUSE IT'S ONCE A YEAR.
You can't restrict yourself from things you love all the time. That's why people crash and burn on diets. The only problem here is with people who don't have the ability to get their hands out of a cookie box after two cookies. Is that a nine year old's problem? No. Should cookies be disbanded in favor of something healthy because, once a year, people loose their minds over something so delicious? I think not. It would be a sad day if the weak willpower of the few denied cookies to the many.
*MY* bingey food of choice are BROWNIES!
I was a girl scout for years and years. I do wish they'd come up with another fundraiser. Same goes for schools- ours sends home that catalog with the overpriced chocolate covered nuts and stuff. Surely there is something else they could sell that would be more in keeping with their philosophy (healthy, happy girls), although I do realize one reason the cookies are SO successful is because people have been buying them every January for their entire lives.
Actually, 15-20 years ago the cookies weren't made with all the GMO/palm/food colors/HFCS (I don't think…)
The new cookie "Shout Outs" don't look that bad. The point of my post wasn't how horrible it was to eat GS cookies, but I just wanted people to know what they were getting.
I do not buy Girl Scout cookies even though I was a Scout (and sold cookies) for 12 years. Not because of nutrition, but because I don't think Girl Scouts are learning something valuable by selling crap door to door, or at a table in front of the grocery store. They can teach entrepreneurship another way, and the cookie sales don't make very much money for the troop OR council. It mostly makes money for the cookie bakers. I'm not really interested in supporting that system.
I'm completely okay with Girl Scout cookies. In moderation, they're a treat that have been around for generations. Is it the Girl Scout's fault that they become a binge for some people? (not meant to be combative, just meant to be a question to ponder)
On purchasing more than one at a time – most kinds freeze incredibly well. It's like anything else that might go on sale only once a year – you can stock up if you wish. When I was a Girl Scout, my grandfather would buy a case of the peanut butter sandwich cookies, promptly put them in the freezer, and consume them over the course of the year. The man was also never overweight.
Also, I don't know nutritional stats on Boy Scout popcorn (though they are online, I just found them), but I know that my favorite, the chocolate caramel crunch, cannot be that healthy. However, it is delicious…in moderation.
what does c/f mean
c/f means casein free.
Also, by referring to boy scout popcorn, I'm thinking whole kernel.
Listen, I'm all for healthy eating, and things in moderation.. but what I'm not for is changing every little thing so there are no more 'bad' things out there. It's alright to live a little once in a while, and I see nothing wrong with the Girl Scouts selling cookies. If you think you are going to eat them all in one sitting, don't buy them. But as far as them changing their tradition because some American's can't handle eating 2 or 3 cookies at once is absurd.
I really used to enjoy this blog until it became a ranting place for everything that doesn't offer the healthiest options, or caters to people with food allergies (and before people decide that I am being ridiculous, I have many family members who have to eat g/f, dairy free, soy free, egg free… some of them all combined into one) Now I feel like all that is talked about is how bad everything is for you, and that your way is the way to go, and every organization should be about catering to that mindset. Go you for trying to change the world, and I'm all for changing the world in my own rights (donating my time to my community, I do buy my produce from local markets whenever I can) but I will not be reading anymore, and be made to feel like my choices are killing the environment and not catering to special needs of people.
I bought a few boxes this year and last year from my niece. They don't taste the same as they did when I was a kid (I'm 32 now) and I don't think I'm going to buy them again. I don't care if other people eat them but now I think they are a waste of my calories. If I don't LOVE it, I won't eat it.
Girl Scouts also sell what is termed "fall products" that consist of nuts and popcorn-ish things. They actually make more money for their troops off of these fall products, $1-$2 per item verses $.40 per box of cookies.
I have two girl scouts and I hate cookie time, seriously hate it.
Well you HAVE to buy more than one box of girl scout cookies because they only sell them once a year, so you buy half a dozen boxes and stash them in the freezer to last the year . . .or so that's the thought process. Usually they're gone in two months. So bad but delicious! Samoas. . .they are a weakness of mine!
my sister used to be a girl scout so we would always buy girl scout cookies. they are so good. my favorites are tagalongs, samoas, and thin mints. especially if you put thin mints in the freezer. oh! so delicious!
I'm really up in the air on this subject – and not just girl scout cookies. Not just cookies, even. I'm a dessert girl too, and as a nutrition major, I find my love for dessert at odds with my knowledge and with the rest of my eating habits, which are otherwise really good. I try to limit and moderate what junk food I keep around for this purpose, but at the same time, I feel like most healthy diets need a little junk food. "Need," I guess, being an arguably appropriate word.
The thing is, I don't like how schools are banning pizza parties and donuts on your birthday. And I think that it could be a shame if girl scouts stop selling their cookies. Why does the problem to our tendency to overeat need to be total deprivation? It definitely helps, and the alternative – targeting our own behaviors rather than product availability – is much more challenging, but anything less feels like a band-aid fix to me.
But at the same time, you definitely have a point…like I said, I'm torn!
anything homemade, we don't buy cookies etc at the store but I LOVE to bake. And if I bake, I am going to eat anything not nailed down. That and ice cream, especially rocky road, I have a pint of it in front of me right now. The shame…
When I was young, I participated in Camp Fire Girls for a few years before I went to Girl Scouts. CFG sell door to door, but we had to drag cases of nuts in glass jars around to sell. We had the product on hand when selling and I think it was mostly just nuts, nothing chocolate covered though I don't think. My dad was a Pack Master for Boy Scouts and the majority of the popcorn sales were the caramel corn or the microwave popcorn. Very little of the whole kernel. I think that no matter what they sell, it won't end up being good. I think Girl Scouts have also come out with a lot of lowfat options also.
Boy Scout popcorn (while ALL for a worthy cause!!) is way over-priced. We have FOUR boys in the Boy/Cub Scout program right now. The cheapest item is around $15. Last year each boy was asked to sell $500 worth of popcorn, but they are not allowed to go door-to-door (and I wholeheartedly agree with that). They asked the boys to sell to family, friends and co-workers. Since I'm a stay-at-home mother of six, and only my husband works, this puts the burden of pressure on him to sell $2,000 worth of over-priced popcorn to the 20 people in his military office. I have several nephews in the same troop and our families felt like they had to buy popcorn from each of the boys to be fair. Our neighbors are all elderly and I can't imagine asking them to shell out that kind of money for food they probably can't chew anyway.
The boys have sat outside of stores to sell popcorn, but our experience is that only former scouts and parents of former scouts fork over the money to buy the popcorn. And it results in very stressed children, trying to meet their $500 quota. After several hours of sitting at a booth table one evening, three scouts sold a total of $100 in popcorn, which had to be split three ways.
I say let the Girl Scouts continue selling cookies. They are profitable. Everyone has their agency to buy or not buy the cookies or to eat or not eat them.
As I wrote in the Spoonfed post that Mrs. Q referenced, my problem isn't with cookies or treats. This isn't about calories or indulgence (or even overindulgence).
It's about *ingredients* — and the ingredients in Girl Scout cookies are exceptionally unhealthy. And, in the case of palm oil, environmentally destructive. Which is why we don't eat GS cookies, and why I won't let my daughter sell them. (More details in my post.)
Spoonfed: Raising kids to think about the food they eat
i just won a giveaway of VEGAN girl scout cookies! they taste exactly the same!(non vegan tried them) anyway, if you want to make them at home using flour that is ok for your body, it probably isnt that hard to find online. it will be minus the butter and cows milk etc, with healthy(healthy-ER in my opinion) alternatives. somehow i am able to limit myself to half a cookie a day…a feat i never thought i was capable of:)
I am a teacher and buy girl scout cookies but we do it the right way – buy quite a few boxes and pace it out over the year. I still have one box in my cupboard from last year. They are delicious, and it is a huge fundraiser for a group I support because of what they offer children.
That being said, I do see your argument…but self-control should set the pace at which cookies enter our mouths.
OMFG I love Girl Scout Cookies. But only do-si-dos. The rest are disgusting. Buy 12 packs, put 11 in the freezer. Remove one box from the freezer each month. Repeat. Or at least that's the original plan. It's more like 8 go in the freezer, take out 2 every month. Sit around thinking about do-si-dos and trying various recipes online until the Girl Scouts come back.
I'm 6'1", 130lbs, so I don't worry too much about binging on anything. As for the Boy Scout popcorn. I'm not sure there's that much nutritional difference. Compare: http://www.abcsmartcookies.com/cookies_nutrition.asp?id=25985198-5680-43D1-8905-FC830961F026 to http://www.trails-end.com/estore/catalog/product_details.jsp?navAction=push&navCount=2&id=prod190002
I haven't read any replies but selling cookies was one of the first fundraisers girl scouts use to do. It's a tradition. My council use to sell popcorn, calendars etc but cookies were the most money maker.
I used to sell girl scout cookies, and even then I wished we had something better or different to offer. But you can't deny the popularity of the cookies.
If a friend's daughter is selling, I will buy. Between 6 – 12 boxes, depending on how many kids I know are selling. But since I'm a "rather have seconds than dessert" kind of person myself, they do end up sitting in the freezer for awhile. And then we'll have a party in the summer, I'll break out a couple of boxes of girl scout cookies, and my guests go ga-ga. Even over six month old, frozen cookies. 🙂
The last time I bought girl scout cookies was two years ago, six boxes, and we only finished off the last box this past Thanksgiving. I love the Tagalongs, Trefoils, Samoas, and Thin Mints, in that order. But I can never eat more than one or two at a time. So I guess I'm really buying them to support the girls I know, more than a desire for sweets in the house.
The one thing I can inhale in a single day: Clementines. Seriously, put a box of those in front of me, and they're gone in a flash. I try not to think of what they're doing to my blood sugar when I'm gobbling down slice after slice of sweet orangey goodness.
I'm so glad to see that so many people are tired of the "pitchfork mob" on this blog coming after anything and everything unhealthy.
I have been reading your blog since the get-go, and frankly, it's getting a bit "fart sniffy" (as South Park so rightly explained in their Prius episode
http://www.southparkstudios.com/guide/episodes/s10e02-smug-alert)
Your issues which I do agree with:
*Improving the lunches many children are forced to eat each day, to make sure they are nutritionally sound, as many of these children have no other options
*Requiring that there be more honesty in children's advertising
*teaching our own children the difference between healthy food, unhealthy food, and the power of "all things in moderation–including moderation."
But I am not ok with this new shift in mentality where everything that's unhealthy in our society has to go. It's not my problem that some people can't have a couple of girl scout cookies without eating the whole box. It's not my problem that some people guzzle a supersized soda at McDonald's when I walk into the same restaurant and walk out with plain peppermint tea. The whole world does not need to throw junkfood out the window because people don't have any self control.
I am in full support of Anonymous 1:50, and Jess' comment about the band-aid fix is spot-on. The goal here should be about nutrition education, not an all-out prohibition.
Just because people cannot stop eating them is not a reason for the Girl Scouts to stop selling them. Personal responsibility Mrs. Q. Plain and simple.
I agree with Christina at Spoonfed. I've never felt the need to put limits on myself for eating cookies and desserts (I'm just not always in the mood for sweets and enjoy healthy foods because I've developed a taste for them). I used to love Samoas, but I can't bring myself to eat them anymore because of the ingredients. If Girl Scouts sold cookies made from real ingredients and no hydrogenated oils, I would go back to buying ten boxes of them to hoard for the rest of the year, but until then, I make my own Samoas!
Little known fact – During WWII Girl Scouts sold calenders not cookies because of rationing. Maybe they could go back to this? But many people get free calenders from donating to various not for profits such as the American Lung Association, Diabetes Association, etc.
I buy band fruit every year. Several schools have their music departments sell fruit around Christmas time. This is something I can buy and feel good about.
What bugs me is that the troops get so little of the money back and have to sell the cookies to be able to do other fundraisers. I did buy a magazine from one of my friends little girls during the fall girl scout fundraiser. At least I will read the magazine, then I'll probably pass it to her mother to read.
Personally, as with most school fundraisers too, I'd rather write a check to the troop or school for a certain amount and skip the buying.
(and the selling)
I hate the way organizations and schools "pimp" our kids for the almighty dollar.
Manipulating them and Making them feel bad if they don't sell a certain $ amount so they "win" a certain prize or get a donut party for their classroom.
It all gets tied up with their self worth and then the parents need to get involved by taking the catalogs or forms into work to sell for the kids. Which sends a message to the kids that I'm not sure we should be sending…
To the anonymous person that had this comment:
"I really used to enjoy this blog until it became a ranting place for everything that doesn't offer the healthiest options, or caters to people with food allergies (and before people decide that I am being ridiculous, I have many family members who have to eat g/f, dairy free, soy free, egg free… some of them all combined into one) Now I feel like all that is talked about is how bad everything is for you, and that your way is the way to go, and every organization should be about catering to that mindset…"
I could not agree more. It would enjoy reading it again if you went back to the blog's original purpose of bringing to light the unhealthy choices our schools are making. I'm tired of hearing about your poor digestion. I may or may not be back as a reader.
I believe in tradition, but I also believe in evolving to stay with the times. Why can't there be new products offered in addition to the cookies? It doesn't have to be on the opposite end of the spectrum, but something equally appealing to those who are conscientious of what they consume– let it be health or environmentally-related. Seems like there could be good lessons there for our young minds.
I just hope they don't market something healthier as being "healthier" because for some reason that word has such a negative connotation for so many people.
We have 2 girl scouts so we buy 10 boxes from each girl. Our cookie selling season was from October to December. We still have cookies in the freezer.
As someone else stated, the boy scout popcorn is way overpriced.
Not to mention that the boy scouts (as a whole) are a homophobic organization. The girl scouts are a separate entity and do not have this issue.
My daughter's a Cadette Girl Scout and this will be our fifth cookie season. Honestly, my problem with GS cookies isn't with how healthful they are or aren't–obviously they're not good for you, but they're only sold for a few weeks once a year, so even if you stuff yourself during those few weeks, you have lots of time to make up for it with exercise and better eating. What I don't like is the intense focus on selling cookies and getting prizes, and the way the girls are given tough quotas to meet. It creates stress and pressure that neither my daughter nor I need.
peanut butter. I can buy a jar of peanut butter (not the icky Kraft or whatever kind, but fresh ground with just peanuts as the ingredients) and chow down the entire thing in a night. as for cookies, I could probably each those in a binge too, so I just don't buy them!
I think that selling the cookies was a *great* experience and gave me skills that I still use. Learning to get out of my comfort zone, learning how to handle people who didn't want to buy, learning follow through (cookie delivery, money collection) were good skills to learn.
One of our boy scout troops sold cards in front grocery stores, not popcorn. The kind that are "buy one get one free" at stores or 10% the local shoe store or whatever. That might be a good idea.
@Anonymous (why are they always anonymous?)
It's a fine line, I think. Does eating "healthy" mean that one can NEVER eat "junk"? I don't think so. However, in the context of school lunch we're talking about what kids eat every single day – at the very place that is supposed to be teaching them and equipping them to make good choices in life. Most of the posts here that I've seen involve foods that a regular part of kids diets- not the occasional treat.
I know a thing or two about Girl Scout cookies. I'm a Girl Scout leader. What don't I like about the cookies? Well, there's no vegan ones, so that sucks. However, the fact that they are bad for you and delicious? Nope. I don't mind that. You can eat fewer cookies or avoid eating them at all. You don't have to buy them.
I can't eat the cookies, but I do buy them. I donate the boxes I buy to overseas troops.
The popcorn sold by Boy Scouts of America is way overpriced, I hear some troops have a shitty quota, and it doesn't seem that great for you either (coated in "cheese" and caramel and shit).
Plus, I can't support the Boy Scouts. As someone else mentioned, the organization as a whole is anti-gay. They are a completely seperate incident from the Girl Scouts of America.
Thanks to everyone for your comments! 🙂
I'm with you, Ms. Q and I think I'm married to the same man! He can take or leave sweets — he'd rather have seconds at dinner. As for me, I have a serious sweet tooth. It's easier for me to just not tear into that package of cookies than it is to limit myself to one or two.
I am embarrassed to admit this because I know they're just gross when I think about what I'm really putting in my body. But my FAVORITE binge out food is donuts. Fortunately I do not often find myself in their path.
As to the girl scout issue, I didn't really interpret your viewpoint here as "it's bad for you, so it has to go!" Rather, it seems to me that you're just asking us to take a look at cookie sales as an appropriate fund-raising activity for our girls. What message are we sending to our children about good, healthy eating habits when we reward them for selling as many boxes as possible? Then we (as a culture) couple this with impossible beauty standards which results in a no-win situation.
Sadly, no one is going to buy 12 boxes of radishes if the girl scouts decided to sell them instead of cookies.
Thanks Christine and to everyone else. My only goal with posts like this is to ask people to question things they do. Two years ago I was eating GS cookies. I'm still eating cookies (I just said I binge on them), but I'm questioning like never before. I might as well be a different person. People evolve 🙂
I have Girl and Boy scouts in my house. The problem I have with Popcorn sales is the cost. My 1st grader was asked to sell $300 worth of popcorn before he would get a "prize." The cost ranges from $9 to $50. yes $50 for popcorn! The popcron is overpriced, and even the whole kernel is an unhealthy version of something we eat regualarly. The "healthy" canola oil version we bought has 11 grams of fat in each popped bag of popcorn.
The girls get $.56 this year for each box of cookies they sell. or $.64 if they forgo the "prizes" offered for selling. If done right, the girls do learn a lot. As a former leader myself, it is all about how you handle your troop. The girls are suppose to market the cookies, come up with goals and sell the cookies. If you or your troop leaders do all the work, than, no the girls learn nothing, but if the girls are required to put in the effort, than they do gain a lot.
I sold cookies when I was in scouts, but I barely remember it. I never sold too many, just to family and friends. I was never much of a leader! I can see how it could be a great opportunity for girls, if it's structured properly.
I only bought one box of girl scout cookies (peanut butter patties) this year. They were delivered yesterday and we all had one. Then I forgot about them.
On the other hand…I bought two HUGE bags of boy scout popcorn which I proceeded to munch on for many nights in front of the TV until I finally decided that since I seemed to have no will power against the delicious carmel and toffee popcorn, I had to throw the remaining out.
HHMM after reading all of this, I am not sure what else I can say that has been said, but I will offer this. As a long time leader, and Service Unit Cookie Manager, there is NO better fundraiser than GS Cookies. Cookies afforded my troop trips to 2 different amusement parks, swimming with the dolphins, Broadway musicals, movie nights, slumber parties and YES even a 4 day trip to Disneyland. This year the troop will be using funds for a trip to Europe. In addition to this we adopted a family at Christmas every year, and made our own cookies for the Women's shelter. We sang at Convalescent homes and did other community service projects. The funds were also used by the girls to pay for their sleep away summer camp. None of this would be possible without the funds provided to us by GS Cookies. I never set the goal for the girls, we posted possible options, they choose did the math and figured out how many boxes they needed to sell to get there. Some times it took two years of savings. Bottom line, don't try and take everything away from the kids. How else would 8 girls raise $1800 in 3 weeks of work??
I have never been much of a sweets person…according to my friends this makes me "lucky." I tend to have a weakness for salty food though: pretzels, saltine crackers, etc.
In regards to the Girl Scout cookies, I see it as a once a year thing. I buy a few boxes of samoas, possibly a box or two of thin mints, and that's it. They generally last me a couple months, and then they're gone. I am a dietetics student, but I enjoy an occasional indulgence without guilt. If you make healthy, balanced choices on a regular basis, a cookie here, or a brownie there isn't a big deal.
As always Mrs. Q, you seem to have started quite a discussion. I think it's great that you are encouraging people to think about the choices they're making!
I know it's a silly thing to care about I guess, and I really have always enjoyed reading this blog but…
Breads are unhealthy now too? It was just a throwaway comment in the beginning of the post, but you said "My dad puts back lots of unhealthy foods like donuts, cookies, and tons of bread." I know some people have issues with wheat and other grains, but I don't. And again, it's silly to care, but I put tons of time and work and love into the various breads I make at home, that I feed my family with. Whole organic milk, rich creamy organic butters, carefully chosen whole grain flours and raw cane sugar, and bunches of other great seeds and nuts and local cheeses in the breads… how is this unhealthy? Are these now bad food choices too?
Food is more than fuel.
I actually hate Girl Scout cookies. There. I said it.
Give me a warm, gooey, fresh from the oven chocolate chip or oatmeal cookie and I'm happy. Store bought (or Girl Guide) cookies are something I've never, ever, liked. Oreos are the only exception.
If people don't like the cookies, why not donate to the Girl Guides and let them keep the cookies?
Just an FYI about those who want to know where the money goes, or those who may not know: about 85 cents goes into the actual cookie; the rest stays local. You can read the cookie faq here: http://www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_cookies/cookie_faqs.asp
We sell 'em and we buy 'em. Are the cookies an indulgence? Absolutely. And it seems to me most people know that because they buy only 1 or 2 boxes. We know most of the people we sold to and they have 2-4 people in the home so in reality that's not a lot of cookies even if they're gone within a week of getting them. DD & I are having a lot of fun selling them; we came up with a flyer and we go door-to-door and she has a whole spiel that she says to people and I carry the flyers and order forms and serve as a cheerleader.
I think what DD is learning from this exercise in selling is how to do face-to-face communication, something I fear our kids are going to lack as the world revolves more and more around 140-160 character messages. But I digress….
As a girl scout leader and a proponent of healthy school lunches (and food in general) I totally own my hypocricy with regards to girl scout cookies. But here is how I can justify (rationalize?!?) it:
Girl Scouts is a non-profit organization. Almost the entire organization is made up of volunteers. It has been my experience that the overall costs are a fraction of other extracurricular activities which opens it up to many, many girls who can not afford other activities. The money has to come from somewhere. The cookies work for a variety of reasons:
1) Branding. Seriously, the things sell themselves! Going to something new would be very risky for the organization which relies on the cookie sale funds to run programs (especially on the local level.)
2) Price point. Our council is holding steady at $3.50/box. There is no other fundraiser out there that is as reasonable. The boy scout popcorn is super expensive (and really unhealthy anyway.)
3) If the troop takes the sale seriously, it is a really good learning opportunity for the girls in business and responsibility.
4) I think that each council decides for themselves, but in ours the troop keep 65 cents per box sold. That really adds up and allows up to provide many great opportunities for our girls. In addition, last year they did away with the junk incentive program and now each girl get 15 cents per box sold to use on any girl scout related thing they want from uniforms to summer camp. Another portion goes to local council and then even more goes to the national organization. My guess is that the bakers end up with about half, which is the split that any fundraiser ends up being.
Lastly, I think that there is a fundamental difference in girl scout cookies and school lunch (which is why we are all here in this virtual discussion, right?) With school lunch, we are talking about the nourishment that can be the almost daily core meal for so many children who have no choice in the matter. It seems irresponsible for schools to feed them junk for that meal. Schools and societies should make sure that this meal is the pinnacle of health so that what happens out of their control maybe becomes a tiny bit less important. Girl scout cookies (and cookies in general) are a treat. I think that people know that which is why people so desperately scoop them up during that brief window they are available.
The reality is — many groups like GS, BS, Camp Fire and other youth organizations have tried to sell healthier options — and they don't sell or make the money that the cookies/candy/popcorn do. (let's be real, the whole kernel popcorn is their lowest seller, the choc., carmel, "cheese" stuff is the best seller).
For those that are upset about the portion of the $$ that goes directly to troops, the council and National Organizations provide services, programs, curriculum development, etc., to the leaders and other volunteers, support their outdoor/camping programs and more.
Most of our groups here also have a "treats for troops" sort of program as well, and nothing says you can't choose to donate directly to the child's group.