Girl Scout cookie season, with a twist

Courtesy Girl Scouts of America

Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois and Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) kicked off the 2021 Girl Scout Cookie season during a challenging time when many Girl Scouts are selling in creative, socially distant, and contact-free ways to keep themselves and their customers safe.

Even in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, girls are adapting their sales methods to share the joy of Girl Scout Cookies through the largest girl-led entrepreneurship program—including taking contact-free pickup and delivery orders through a new national collaboration with Grubhub. Additionally, GSUSA is making online cookie ordering available nationwide on February 1 so consumers who don’t know a Girl Scout can still purchase cookies from a local troop for direct shipment to their homes or donation to local military and first responders.

Innovative Girl-led Sales Methods

The Girl Scout Cookie Program has long taught girls how to run a business via in-person booths, door-to-door activity, and the Digital Cookie® platform online, which GSUSA launched in 2014. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in the middle of the 2020 season and girls were faced with the same challenges as other small businesses, girls in quickly pivoted their sales methods. Girls as young as five years old are continuing to embrace their entrepreneurial spirits, stay connected to their communities, and have fun by participating in the Cookie Program. And, the proceeds from each and every purchase stay local with the troop and its council to power Girl Scouts’ essential leadership programming.

This year, Girl Scouts is also providing new materials as part of their cookie badge program to support girls as they run their cookie business online and via social media, helping them be best equipped to sell during these times.

Ordering Now Available Through Delivery Platform Grubhub

This season, Girl Scouts of Eastern Iowa and Western Illinois is participating in a national collaboration with food ordering and delivery platform Grubhub so girls have an additional way to facilitate contact-free cookie orders. In Waterloo, Quad Cities, and Cedar Rapids, consumers can order Girl Scout Cookies for pickup or delivery on Grubhub.com or the Grubhub app on select weekends in February and March. A hands-on experience in managing e-commerce, local Girl Scouts will track and fulfill orders, manage inventory, and more, all using Grubhub’s back-end technology. As always, the proceeds benefit the troop and council while providing another innovative way to safely run the cookie program virtually. GSUSA is grateful to Grubhub for waiving all fees for the organization to make this new delivery option feasible for sales without reducing troops’ and councils’ proceeds.

Online Ordering Available Nationwide February 1

GSUSA is making it possible for all consumers nationwide who don’t already know a Girl Scout to purchase Girl Scout Cookies online for shipment to their door. Beginning February 1, customers can enter their zip code into the Girl Scout Cookie Finder to find a local troop to purchase from through the Digital Cookie platform for direct shipment or donation to local organizations. This additional contact-free method supports local girls while keeping their safety and skill building top of mind.

This story originally appeared on the Voice of Muscatine. Read More local stories here.

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