Okay, it’s not really a scandal (at least not yet), but I wanted something catchy.
Ever the helpful neighbors, we bought a box of Girl Scout Cookies the other day. Actually, we bought ’em a few weeks ago, but they were delivered the other day. Cost? $3.50. Pretty pricey for a box of cookies, thought I. Then I opened them.
There were 15 – fifteen! – cookies in the box. The entire box. That works out to more than $0.23 per cookie. Now it’s not an issue of donating to the group. Had they simply asked for a donation, we’d probably give them one. But what a rip-off. Fifteen reasonable-quality cookies, for $0.23 each?
Comments
61 responses to “Girl Scout Cookie Scandal”
The Girl Scouts are indeed a wonderful organization. (Aas opposed to the Boy Scouts, whom I would not give a dime.) The cookies are definitely overpriced, but the bigger issue for me is that we are trying very hard to eat healthier…we don’t bring sweets into the house. I could give them to someone else, but we’re also not fans of the whole junk-food life that we think is consuming America.
So I carry dollar bills in my pocket during this time of year and give them one or two as I pass by, which is more money than the local troop would get from the cookie sale anyway. But in truth, the Girl Scout cookies are everywhere; it would add up to a few hundred dollars if I gave them money every time I passed, and in truth, it starts to feel like harassment.
Three groups Karyl.
The two “real” bakeries: Keebler, which is owned by Kellogg’s, and Interbake Foods.
And the employees of the National GSA. The CEO (Kathy Cloninger) makes 530,000 a year in a cushy Park Avenue office in NYC.
She recently testified to congress about their poor pension being decimated by the recent stock market downturn. boo hoo.
All of this on the backs of unpaid child labor in the guise of “This teaches the girls a valuable lesson…”
However, the true lesson of exploitation is missed by most.
The question I have is who is behind the Girl Scouts. Who is the fat cat that is getting rich?
Here’s a shocker! There is a girl scout troop in North Tustin, California that is using their cookie money to get their hair done and buy themselves designer clothes at Nordstrom (Fashion Island, CA)- each girl gets to shop with their cut of the cookie take.
How do you feel about this? I’m enraged! Many troops out there need this money just to operate, some use it for camp, others for charity, but these girls, who can afford this anyway, are using the cookie money to buy themselves designer clothes.
Their shopping spree is on June 13 starting at 3:30-5:30 in the Bistro where they will get their hair done and then from 5-7 they will shop.
I am outraged at this sickening display of selfishness. Since they obviously don’t need the money they should have donated it to a troop in a poor community who does!
Here in Germany, it’s even worse, though the cookies are fifty cents cheaper than $4.00. There’s no going door to door- You have to set up a booth somewhere, and though during my first year here, we took shifts, the shift thing didn’t last. The next year in January when we were supposed to be selling, we stayed there from ten o’clock on weekdays to SEVEN in the night. On sundays we were lucky, from eleven to six, but still, that’s a long time to be standing around saying “Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies?”. Oh, did I mention the slipup? The slipup that we weren’t supposed to get cookies this year, yet we did anyway and we sold the cookies for a little less than half the year? I don’t know how I survived that, thank goodness the time got shortened by a couple of hours. We actually made more off of donations (we didn’t beg, by the way, we just had the jar out) than we did off the cookies.
Can you believe that JAG actually said that we had to redo the paper work, paper work saying that we (girl scouts) would be affiliated with terrorists? It’s just ridiculous what we go through over here in Europe.
My problem with Girl Scout Cookies is the little amount that the Girl Scout Organization gets for their sales. It’s outragious that the girl scouts get only about .61 cents per box. I’m surprised no one has brought that up. Why hasn’t anyone higher up in the Girl Scout organization bothered to get another supplier? They are either really getting ripped off or someone is getting a kick back. I’d much rather donate to the organization than buy girl scout cookies.
Why don’t you do something besides ranting about girl scout cookies! Don’t buy them if you don’t want them! I think there are bigger problems in the world than the cost of cookies!
Why can’t the Girl Scouts learn to bake their own cookies and sell them? I imagine this is what they did in the past before large corporations took over. If the argument is based on learning “real-life” skills, that goal would be better served by learning material (Flour, sugar, eggs), manufacturing (mixing, baking) and labor (their time) costs, as well as what it takes to sell. Also, how much is someone really learning by giving a parent a sheet to take into work and having them do most of the selling for you.
Dear all ,
You are missing the point: GIRL SCOUTS COOKIES have been created by her founder Juliette Law to upset the cost of the girl scout programs.
Besides is a great tool that allows girls to training in counting money, promote products, budgeting their programs , join efforts in a team work and more.
So you have a free market to pick best prices , but GIRL SCOUTS cookies are a tradition in America because only who understand the real mean of them purchase them .
Still not like this explanation, then you may want to consider to move on and get something else , and do not blemish our American Tradition , one of many we are proud of.
Proudly, every friday, I teach girls to be proud of their achievements. Lat year was my first year in saling cookies. Each one of my girl sold 1000 boxes: wich allow them to enjoy learn
How to kayaking
How to buy materials and saw their own gown to attend the annual GScout Spring ball.
How to buy cleaning product to support to clean up ( and volunteer in the duty)
our camp sites,
How to donate toys to desfavorable children (toy made of materials purchased with this cookie profit.
So in the very end, Are you being rip off , or are you being part of the team who create healthy chilhood programs in America?
That is the question! Place yourself in the side you wish , and move on.
Girl Scout Cookies also have excellence to being ecognize for being delicious !!!!!
Keep up girls , this person did not know what our cookies were invented for and what they support
maybe this year thanks to this site we will sale DOUBLE!!!!!!
and that means double community services and double field trips.
Keep up your good job!
With love for all these hard worker brownies and junior through out America and world wide,
Ivonne Reilly
proud volunteer of Girl Scouts of America
TROOP LEADER
Miami FLORIDA US
yeah! GS cookies ARE ridiculously pricey. i’m a GS myself, and the best advice i have is buy your cookie from subway like one of the comments said and then donate the rest of the money to however asks to to by cookies. the truth is, last year, the troops got 4 cents from every dollar (14 cents per box) – this year i’m not sure because they didn’t include information about where the money goes, haha…that bugs me a lot, so i don’t even know how much my troop gets this year for me going about in the cold to get doors shut in my face or not even answered!!! last year this guy donated 10 dollars…thats about the equivalent of buying 71 boxes in troop profit! even if 10 dollars is too much. donate 3.50 like if you were buying a box, and we’ll earn an amount equivalent to you buying 25 boxes.
please donate =)
about a third of the money that funded my silver award project came out of the pockets of myself and my fellow girlscouts.