Hear that? It was the sound of 220,000 cookies ‘dropping’ in Stanislaus County
A long weekend that began with Valentine’s Day managed to get even sweeter by Presidents’ Day, which for years in Stanislaus County also has been the Girl Scouts’ Mega Drop day. That’s when delivery truck drivers unload pallets of Thin Mints and all the rest to the Turlock County Fairground for pickup by the troops that ordered them.
Monday morning was windy and cool, but thankfully clear and dry. A total of 18,401 cases — 12 cookie boxes to each case — were put in a fairgrounds parking lot. Each of the nine varieties was stacked at a separate station as volunteer Scouts and leaders checked off order forms and loaded the treats into vehicles.
By the end of the Mega Drop, families from about 300 troops would make their way from station to station in everything from SUVs to minivans, pickup trucks and cargo and livestock trailers.
Turlock’s was one of two Mega Drops for the Girl Scouts Heart of Central California Council, whose 18 counties include Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Merced and Tuolumne. The other cookie drop was in Sacramento.
Scouts who picked up their cookies Monday can immediately begin delivering those they began taking orders for on Jan. 10. Friday will be the first day of sales at storefront booths across the HCC Council, and March 15 will be the last day.
There are no new cookies this year, meaning the available varieties are Thin Mints, Caramel deLites, Peanut Butter Patties, S’mores, Lemonades, Peanut Butter Sandwiches, Shortbread, Thanks-A-Lots and the gluten-free, limited-supply Caramel Chocolate Chip. The latter is $6 a box, while other varieties are $5.
This is the final year for Thanks-A-Lots, which were introduced 12 years ago and are popular gifts for teachers, coaches and others. Each fudge-backed shortbread cookie is embossed with “Thank you” in one of five languages.
Emily Walsh, director of product programs for the council, suggested shoppers stock up on the cookie. “They freeze really well. ... And they’re really good for s’mores. We have our S’mores cookies, but for actual s’mores, the Thanks-A-Lots is a great one.”
The cookie’s retirement means a new variety will be announced in the coming year, but Scout leaders don’t yet know what it will be, Walsh said.
Though there’s no new cookie this year, there is a new feature to Girl Scout cookie season, and that’s Red Wagon Saturday on March 7, when groups of girls will sell door-to-door to cookie lovers who maybe haven’t come across a booth or just have run out of their favorites. “We want them to be seen in their neighborhoods, actually taking cookies, knocking on doors, and not just at booths.”
Though that Saturday comes at the end of two weeks of sales, all varieties still will be available, Walsh said, because so-called cookie cupboards — mini distribution sites based out of Scout leaders’ homes — keep troops supplied all the way through the season.
Cookie sales benefit troops financially and educationally. The program helps girls develop five skills: goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills and business ethics.
Among the Scouts volunteering Monday morning in Turlock was Azalea Wims of Troop 3359, which includes girls from Modesto and Riverbank. She agreed that the experience has taught her business and money skills and has built her confidence.
After the cost of the cookies, all proceeds stay local. Part goes to the council to fund programs and support volunteers, and some goes to troops for activities, perhaps a trip of some kind, and to benefit a cause of their choice.
Azalea said council programs have allowed her to meet girls from a lot of other troops and join in activities with them. Last year’s cookie sale proceeds allowed her troop to donate to the Paradise fire relief efforts, she said, and she and her fellow Scouts often try to give to organizations that help animals.
To learn more about the Girl Scout cookie sales program, go to www.girlscoutshcc.org. Enter a ZIP code into the cookie locator there to see when and where local troops will operate booths.
