Girl Scout cookies hit Modesto in Mega Drop

Leaders of about 300 troops from Stockton to Turlock lined up in the parking lot of Big Valley Grace Community Church in Modesto on Monday for what’s become a Presidents Day tradition: the Girl Scout Heart of Central California council’s Cookie Mega Drop.

Roughly 300 Girl Scout volunteers and council staffers loaded Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties and other cookie varieties into SUVs, pickup trucks, small moving trucks, trailers and more. The cookies were delivered by big rigs and placed in the parking lot for volunteers to load variety by variety as vehicles pulled through.

Now, Girl Scouts who took advance orders door-to-door and online will begin delivering the cookies. Booth sales outside local storefronts will begin Feb. 27 and run through March 22.

Just a small percentage of Girl Scouts are selling online through the Digital Cookie program, which is in its first year. Council and troop leaders expect the program to grow significantly over the next few years but say it will not come close to replacing door-to-door and booth sales.

“People still want to see the smiling little girl with her beanie on,” said Sue Schoneman, the council’s assistant vice president of product and retail sales, at the Mega Drop.

For more information on Girl Scout cookies, including where booths are scheduled, visit http://girlscoutcookies.org.

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Girl Scout cookies hit Modesto in Mega Drop."