Drive-through, delivery options as Girl Scout cookie sales adapt in a pandemic

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - It’s been a long, hard winter, but now Alaskans are about to see the light-- it’s Girl Scout cookie season. Starting Friday, people can expect to see booths lined with colorful boxes full of happiness pop up around town.

“It is going to be different this year,” says Leslie Ridle, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Alaska, “Girls are going to be socially distant, wearing masks, doing safe procedures to make sure they’re safe. That’s our number one goal.”

While COVID-19 has brought many things to a screeching halt, it can’t stop troops from ironing their uniforms, slapping on their badges and hitting the streets with their charisma and irresistible treats. Not only are they making consumers happy, but by participating in the cookie selling program, girls are raising money and, Ridle says, improving their financial literacy.

“It’s a great program for girls to learn about being a business person, an entrepreneur, money management, social skills, all sorts of things,” said Ridle. “I don’t think the desire for Girl Scout cookies has gone away through the pandemic. Last year people wanted to hoard Girl Scout cookies similar to how they were hoarding toilet paper; they were buying cookies faster than we could sell them.”

In order to keep the girls and the public safe, troops will be selling outside this year, at places like Westchester Lagoon and Downtown Anchorage. There will also be drive-by booths in parking lots around town, providing a safe, socially distant way to purchase their cookies.

“You can also order online and we’ll deliver to you,” says Ridle. “I know a lot of people are still staying home, so we have what we call ‘digital cookie’ and it’ll come straight to your house in the mail.”

The Girl Scouts also have a link on their website called Cookie Finder that will help find the closest booth to your current location. People can also text “cookies” to 59618 and Girl Scouts will reply with where you can find cookies.

Don’t have a sweet tooth, but still want to support Girl Scouts? Ridle says you can participate in their ‘Care to Share’ program. “You buy the cookies and we donate them for you to the Red Cross,” she said. “Every year we give hundreds of cases to the Red Cross and it’s been a partnership we’ve had for a really long time and we really value it.”

As for which cookie is the favorite? Ridle says in Alaska it’s a toss-up between Thin Mints and Samoas every year.

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