A small girl dressed in boots, snow pants, a heavy winter coat, hat and a blue Daisy Girl Scouts apron yells excitedly to people passing by: “Cookies for sale! Yummy cookies! Come get ’em!”
The once-a-year Girl Scout cookie season is in effect. Marquette students, hungry for the tradition, formed a line before the table under the Raynor-Memorial bridge between classes March 3. For those who missed the event, booths continue around Milwaukee through March.
Amanda Hodgson, a sophomore in the college of Arts & Sciences, has been a Girl Scout since she was four years old and volunteered to help run the booth Friday. Hodgson said the ordering phase of the Girl Scout cookie program lasts about a month. Cookies can be ordered in advance and booth season only lasts about six to eight weeks.
“I think I ordered around December (or) January, and then I’m picking mine up (March 3),” Hodgson said. Her favorite cookie is a tie between Caramel DeLites and Thin Mints.
Julianna Tarpinian-Kitelinger, a Daisy Girl Scout selling under the bridge, said her favorite cookies are Thin Mints and Girl Scout S’mores.
S’mores, new for 2017, are a take on the classic campfire treat, featuring a graham cracker-and-marshmallow cookie wrapped in chocolate.
When cookie sales began in the 1910s, they were just 25 cents per box. The price of cookies has risen over time to $4 today. Special offers, such as the gluten-free Toffee-tastic, cost $5.
Not all varieties are available in areas of every state. There are two different bakers of the beloved treats: ABC Bakers and Little Brownie Bakers. Fans of Thanks-A-Lots or Lemonades won’t be able to buy them everywhere in the nation.
Because of the two different bakers, cookies vary from region to region in appearance and taste. Sometimes, not even the names of certain varieties are the same. The famous coconut-and-chocolate Caramel deLites, as they’re known in Milwaukee, are called Samoas in Chicago.
The funds raised during cookie sales go to a variety of Girl Scout activities, from camps to troop meetings and service projects.
“My favorite thing about being a Girl Scout is learning to be on your own,” Hodgson said. She loves being outdoors and learned a lot about it during her time in Girl Scouts.
Hodgson said selling cookies under the bridge for campus students proved to be successful. Other ideal locations to sell include grocery stores and churches.
Alizah Schultz, a first year Daisy Girl Scout, helped at the on-campus booth by giving out boxes of cookies. She said her favorite Girl Scout cookies are Lemonades.
After the Girl Scouts finished selling at Marquette, they went to the Piggly Wiggly store in Jackson, Wisconsin and sold more of their products there.
In addition, there is a Cookie Finder mobile app for any Android or Apple device. This app allows users to put in a zip code and find a Girl Scout cookie booth nearby.
Schultz’s favorite part of selling cookies at the bridge was that “we get to see all the big lines and stuff.”
“We also get to eat the cookies sometimes,” Schultz said.
