Girl Scout cookie season is here and now customers have another option for purchasing their favorites: Grubhub.
Girl Scout councils nationwide, including the local Girl Scouts of West Central Florida (GSWCF) council, are working with the food delivery service this season to make sure customers can indulge their cravings in a safer, yet convenient, way. The collaboration allows Girl Scouts to be innovative with socially distant sales methods including contact-free pickup and delivery orders.
Ordering cookies off the app does come with a few limitations. Customers will be able to order off the app when scouts are available and drivers can only deliver within 20 minutes of a pickup location, which are Riverview, Wildwood, Ocala, Palm Harbor, and the Tampa Leadership Center. Times vary for each location but hours of operation range between 10 a.m.-6 p.m. If customers aren’t comfortable with buying cookies in-person or aren’t able to get a delivery, the online Digital Cookie store is an alternative.
“I think it’s great for the people who don’t want to go out or who work during the day,” sixth-grader Bella Blewitt told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
High-school sophomore Jada Tisdale said that although she enjoys the human contact from in-person sales, she’s happy Girl Scouts are doing something like this to keep everyone safe.
“It’s good we’re doing this because the times we’re in and people can send cookies to their families in other states,” Tisdale said.
One of the main points about Girl Scouts is teaching the participants how to run their own businesses. The Grubhub partnership gives scouts hands-on experience with running an ecommerce business. Rodriguez says this cookie season is something the council is proud of.
“The girls are the ones on the app accepting the order, packaging it, and telling the driver when orders are ready,” said GSWCF Director of Communications Alexa Rodriguez.
Nationwide online ordering began Feb. 1 on the Girl Scout Cookie Finder app. Customers can purchase cookies directly from a troop online for direct shipment to their home. In-person booths began Feb. 12 at local Publix, Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Winn Dixie stores. The cookie season ends March 14. Cookie prices range between $5-$6 per box.
“I think it’s going to be very easy because not that many people are out as much. People can use Grubhub to get cookies and be excited,” said Tisdale.
“I believe there will be many more people since it’s contactless and easier to get cookies,” Blewitt said.
After the shutdown stopped a number of booths across the country last year, that’s when Girl Scouts of USA stepped in to figure out how to benefit all the councils.
“Everyone is on food apps so Girl Scouts of USA wanted to see what they could work out to help local councils,” said Rodriguez.
It’s still up in the air whether or not this collaboration will be ongoing.
“It’s something that we’ll have to look at. Local councils can decide if they want to participate in this on a local level,” said Rodriguez. “I’m sure it’s something they want to explore.”
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