(Updated at 12:30 p.m.) Girl Scouts have found a half-dozen ways to get their crave-worthy cookies to customers in spite of the pandemic. Here is how to do it.
Starting this week, people can buy cookies online and have them delivered through the Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital chapter. On Friday, troops will set-up booths in at least four locations in Arlington to sell cookies.
That is a dramatic drop-off from last year, when ARLnow counted more than 20 locations.
“I think it has to do with the fact that a lot of folks are not doing the sales this year because of the question of risk,” said Laura Loomis, a local cookie volunteer leader.
Here are the locations and schedules, according to the Girl Scouts’ cookie finder:
- Virginia Square Metro Station (3600 Fairfax Drive): every Friday from Feb. 5 to March 5.
- Market Common Clarendon (2801 Clarendon Blvd): every weekend from Sunday, Feb. 7 to Sunday, Feb. 21.
- Rosslyn Central Place Plaza (1800 N. Lynn Street): Feb. 5, Feb. 11 and March 5
- Westover Market (5863 Washington Blvd): every Saturday from Feb. 6 to March 6.
All cookie sales end March 14.
“This year we had a decrease, but of course, Girl Scouts have found a way,” said Tygerian Burke, the marketing and communications manager for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital.
Buying cookies online works like this:
- Customers can type their zip code into the cookie finder and find local troops selling cookies virtually.
- When customers click the link corresponding to the troop of their choice, the link will take them to a page with a description of what the sales will go toward and directions for buying the cookies.
- The cookies can be shipped to the customer’s house or to someone else as a donation.
The Girl Scouts are also having cookies delivered via GrubHub, a promotion that started in the D.C. area on Thursday, Burke said. Drivers can deliver cookies to homes within a 25 minute radius of where a scout or troop is located, which in D.C. traffic, will mean varying distances, she added.
She advised checking social media for Facebook Live promotions of GrubHub deliveries throughout the month-and-a-half of sales.
While the online option has been around for a few years, Loomis said “this is the first year where we’ve seen a growth,” which she attributed to people wishing to minimize exposure to the coronavirus.
Burke said some troops within the council are setting up drive-through locations as well as signs with QR codes linking to their personalized virtual booth pages.
Girl Scouts are selling Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs — as well as a new cookie called Lemon-Ups — for $5 a box. Two specialty cookies, S’mores and Toffee-tastics, go for $6 a box.
Image via Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital