Girl Scout Cookie Season Opens Despite Pandemic

Despite the pandemic and a stretch of very cold weather, Girl Scout cookie booths opened this weekend in Nebraska. Girl Scouts across the state aren’t slowing down as they continue a long tradition.

It’s a cold Friday night and senior girl scout Mikaela Roger is selling cookies inside a Walgreens in Lincoln. The 10th grader said most years she sells up to 1,000 boxes, but would be happy to sell 500 this year.

"Even though this pandemic has hit and the cold harsh weathers, I still have the spirit to go out and sell cookies to help benefit me in the future," she said. "So it's not just me who gets benefited from selling cookies, it's also other girl scouts in the Spirit of Nebraska, and also around the world."

Denise Moore is the chief product manager and retail officer for Girl Scout Spirit of Nebraska and said each box supports all the Scout’s activities like camping and STEM workshops. She said the success of the cookie-selling program is very important for them.

"This year, it made it a little more challenging because, obviously, of social distancing so Girl Scouts had to get creative and use a little girl ingenuity," she said.

It’s a sign of the unusual times…. cookie fans can now buy boxes through virtual and drive-through cookie booths, online ordering, and Grubhub delivery.

Due to the pandemic, there’s probably around 2,000 fewer girls participating in the program this year and there could be a drop in sales. But, Moore hopes those who are participating, like Roger, will be more successful because of the different ways they’re able to reach customers.

"This is my 24th year of being at the helm of the Girl Scout Cookie program here in Nebraska.. and the one thing I've learned in those 24 cookie seasons is girl scouts are unstoppable," she said.

Last year, Nebraska Girl Scouts sold 1.8 million boxes of cookies. You can text COOKIES to 59618 or visit their website to find a cookie booth near you and support the girls.