By ELISE RIO
Staff Writer
For the past century, Girl Scouts have been a symbol for America, a way to unite girls from across the nation and to help young women mature. Although Girl Scouts participate in a multitude of activities, possibly the most well-known is their famous cookie business. The cookies are sold during one season a year and raise thousands of dollars for Girl Scout troops.
According to the Girl Scouts website, Girl Scout cookies have been sold for four dollars a box for the past decade, but this year, prices have been raised to five dollars a box, shocking many fans. The website also mentions that the cookies have been costing more than four dollars to produce for a few years now because the price of the basic ingredients has been rising for the bakers. However, the organization was reluctant to raise prices, afraid that people would stop buying the cookies, until this year.
Since all the revenue from the cookie business, after paying the baker, goes directly to the Girl Scouts who sold the cookies, troops have been generating less profit because the revenue depends on the retail prices and cookie costs of the area. However, according to the Girl Scouts website, about 65 to 70 percent of the local retail price on average and 10 to 20 percent of the local retail price go to funding activities like Girl Scout Councils, as well as maintaining camps and properties.
In the past years, cookie sales were generating much less profit because the cookies were costing more than they were being sold for. The one dollar increase will bring a significantly higher profit for the organization and prevent drawbacks in activities that would occur from a lack of funding.
Although the price increase is shocking for many buyers, it is important to keep in mind the meaning of cookie sales for the Girl Scouts. Selling cookies is not just a classic exchange of money for some treats but a chance for girls to work in a business and learn to interact with people. Girl Scouts of America is meant to raise successful women, and cookie sales are the first step in learning how to manage and interact with clients.
A one dollar difference should not be the reason we stop buying the delicious Girl Scout cookies, and if it is not our “sweet tooth” that keeps us hooked, let it be the fact that we are supporting these girls and buying for a cause larger than just our craving for cookies.