Customers who are having a hard time finding a local Girl Scout (or troop) to purchase cookies can be connected to a  local Girl Scout troop by:

• Visiting the council website at www.girlscoutsrv.org
• Visiting GSUSA’s special cookie website at www.girlscoutcookies.org
• Calling River Valleys at 800-845-0787 or
• E-mailing River Valleys at cookies@girlscoutsrv.org

Girl Scouts of the USA does not allow online sales, but you can make online “promises” to purchase this year prior to Cookie Go Day.

Starting Fall 2008 all girl members, including Girl Scout Daisies, are allowed to participate in the Cookie Program Activity. Although parents and Girl Scout adults may assist girls, it is the girl who closes the sale, sets learning and sales goals, and learns the business leadership skills that are part of the program. Participation in this program activity is voluntary.

As part of their experience, Girl Scouts can earn these age-appropriate awards:

• Cookies Count (a Girl Scout Brownie Try-It)
• Smart Cookie (a Girl Scout Brownie Try-It)
• The Cookie Connection (a Girl Scout Junior badge)
• Cookie Biz (a Girl Scout Junior badge)
• Cookies and Dough (an Interest Project award for Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors)
• On the Money, Cookies and More (an award for Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors and Ambassadors)
• Girl Scout Cookie Activity pin (see Girl Scout Cookie Program Activities for this year's activities for Girl Scout Daisies through Ambassadors)

Girls may also earn Cookie Credits to use toward camp fees, Girl Scout Shop items, or council-sponsored program events. Girls also may choose recognition items.

The safety and security of our members is always our chief concern. We have strict guidelines for safety. Girl Scouts must be accompanied or supervised by an adult when selling Girl Scout cookies and always use the buddy system. Girls do not enter homes during door-to-door sales.

Girls that are doing online marketing (not online sales) read and discuss the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge. Girls print out the pledge and ask their parents (or guardians), to read and sign the pledge together. Additionally, we offer letmeknow.girlscouts.org (for adults) and lmk.girlscouts.org (for girls), sites for general help on staying safe online.

The Girl Scout Cookie Program is not just about cookies. These annual activities offer many opportunities for hands-on entrepreneurial activities in the Girl Scout Leadership Experience. We find that most girls in Girl Scouting thoroughly enjoy this activity and look forward to it each year. Participation in this activity is voluntary and requires written permission by a parent or guardian. Girl Scout product activities are a way for girls to finance their Girl Scout activities and special projects, as well as contribute to assuring that all girls have opportunities through Girl Scouting in their community.

Yes! To do so, registered Girl Scout Juliettes are welcome to participate in the Cookie Program Activity. As with all Girl Scouts, Juliettes also must abide by guidelines published by Girl Scouts of the USA and River Valleys and be supervised by a Juliette advisor.

Girl Scouts can use the Cookie Program Activity to bring their service ideas to life. Cookie Care & Share is a River Valleys’ Cookie Program Activity community service project that allows customers to purchase packages of cookies that are donated to recipient organizations by the Girl Scouts. Troops can make the cookie donation themselves by using the “Care” option, or use the “Share” option and let River Valleys do the leg work and make the donation for them. Follow the pathways below for detailed information and ordering instructions for both “Care and Share.” Get more details on the Cookie Care & Share program here.

All of the revenue — every penny after paying 83 cents per package to the baker — earned from cookie activities stays with local Girl Scouts. See all troop proceeds, awards, and recognition items here. Councils use cookie revenue to supply essential services to troops, groups, and individual girls, such as providing program resources and communication support, training adult volunteers, and conducting special events.

No and Yes.

• No, if the customer keeps the cookies. Individuals who buy Girl Scout Cookies and take the cookies home, or consume them, have purchased a product at a fair market value. For this reason, no part of the price of a box of Girl Scout Cookies used in this way is tax-deductible.
  
• Yes, if the customer leaves the cookies with Girl Scouts through the Cookie Care & Share program. Customers who do not benefit directly from paying for the cookies may treat the purchase price of the donated cookies as a charitable contribution. Girl Scouts have Cookie Care & Share receipts you may request to make note of your contribution.

No. Absolutely none of the money from any Girl Scout council-sponsored cookie sale is given to any other group.

The local Girl Scout Councils decide how all of money from cookie sales (except the money going to the baker that produced the cookies) is divided up. The bakers pay a royalty out of their share to Girl Scouts of the USA for use of the licensed trademarks. No other revenue from cookie sales goes to Girl Scouts of the USA. Girl Scouts of the USA provides contractual services and approves all educational materials developed by the bakers, as well as providing coordination and training for national media, safety standards, leadership programs and sale guidelines.

Learn about our baker here: Little Brownie Bakers.

Licensed bakers can offer up to eight varieties of Girl Scout Cookies; only three types are mandatory: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwich/Do-si-dos and Shortbread/Trefoils. The national Girl Scout organization reviews and approves all varieties proposed by the bakers. Any of the five optional cookies can be changed every year. Each bakery names its own cookies, so Girl Scout Cookies that are quite similar may have different names. Suggestions for new cookies are welcome, but the national Girl Scout organization can make no promise to use them.
To see a listing of current varieties, along with pictures and descriptions, go to www.GirlScoutsRV.org/cookies.

Girl Scout Cookies are sold by weight, not by size or number. The number and size of cookies may vary by variety. Girl Scouts of the USA, monitors the weights of the cookies, which are set by contract.

Cookies sold in the River Valleys jurisdiction (southern Minnesota, the Twin Cities metro area, and western Wisconsin) cost $3.50 per package.

Yes. All Girl Scout Cookies are kosher.

The biggest sellers are:

• 25 percent Thin Mints®
• 19 percent Samoas®
• 13 percent Tagalongs®
• 11 percent Do-si-dos®
•   9 percent Trefoils®
  

The other varieties combined account for the remaining 23%.

Check out the Little Brownie Bakers website: http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/cookies/cookies_recipes.html

Call River Valleys at 1-800-845-0787 and a service center specialist can help.

All of the girls pictured on the boxes are registered Girl Scouts. Every box shows Girl Scouts—in action—having fun and growing strong.

Find ingredients, nutritional value, and allergen information at Little Brownie Bakers.

No. Girl Scout Cookies do not contain preservatives. They are all made with pure vegetable shortening, are kosher, and freeze well to extend their shelf life.

For several decades, it was thought that partially hydrogenated oils—sometimes referred to as trans fats—were a healthier food choice compared with saturated fats. In recent years, data has emerged suggesting that, in fact, trans fats are not a healthier choice than saturated fats. Girl Scouts of the USA is proud that all Girl Scout cookies are "zero trans fat per serving" with the same great taste that has made them one of America's favorite treats over the years. All varieties contain less than 0.5 grams trans fat per serving, which meets or exceeds the FDA guidelines for the "zero trans fat" designation.

Good news for health-conscious consumers: While all varieties of Girl Scout cookies contain 0 grams of trans fat per serving, now Trefoils, Lemon Chalet Cremes, Thank U Berry Munch, and Dulce De Leche have absolutely no hydrogenated oils in their ingredient lists.

So that consumers can make an informed choice, the ingredients and nutritional profile of each variety are clearly listed on both the cookie box and the cookie order form, and also on the Web site www.girlscoutcookies.org/nutrition_info_2008_2009.asp

Our cookie baker tells us it is still necessary to use tropical oils for the production of compound coating. Many top bakers have tried to stop using it, but without it, their products do not meet production standards. There are currently eight varieties of Girl Scout Cookies produced by each baker licensed to produce Girl Scout Cookies. Each of our bakers and their palm oil suppliers are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization of growers, buyers, manufacturers, conservationists and interested parties who are striving to develop and follow best practices to ensure sustainability. Each baker produces Girl Scout Cookie varieties without palm oil. For more information, check the bakers' Website: Little Brownie Bakers

While tracing farming practices is very difficult and the problems identified with it very complex, our licensed bakers continue to assure us that they are working with their main suppliers of chocolate and with the Chocolate Manufacturer's Association (CMA), of which both licensed bakers are members, on the issues of slavery and abusive child labor as it relates to the production and purchase of chocolate. The chocolate suppliers and the CMA strongly condemn the use of slavery and abusive labor practices. Their goal is to support the governments and advocacy groups that will make a difference in the lives of the cacao farmers as well as to give assurances to consumers that the cocoa has been farmed under appropriate working conditions.

For consumer convenience, each of our two licensed bakers lists dietary exchanges on the cookie box and cookie order form so people with diabetes and adults with children with diabetes can make informed choices. The amount of sugar and carbohydrates is also listed. Dietary exchanges should always be consulted, even if a product is labeled "sugarless." For more information, check the bakers' Website: Little Brownie Bakers

The ingredients and nutritional elements of all cookies are listed on the cookie order forms and the side of the cookie box so those concerned about carbohydrates can make informed choices. For more information, check the bakers' Web sites: Little Brownie Bakers

Starting with our youngest members, the Girl Scout organization promotes a healthy lifestyle for its girl members, which includes a well-balanced diet and plenty of exercise. Our health and fitness programs encourage girls to adopt healthy fitness and eating habits early in life and continue them into adulthood. Girls are also taught to consider ingredient contribution to their overall diet and portion size when choosing snacks.

In addition, the Girl Scout Research Institute (GSRI) released a research review entitled Weighing In: Helping Girls Be Healthy Today, Healthy Tomorrow. Weighing In addresses various underlying causes leading to the epidemic of obesity and of being overweight among children and adolescents and the lifestyles, culture, and behavior that have contributed to this condition. Read more about this research review.

The demand for specialty cookie formulations is simply not great enough to make it economically feasible to offer a variety of specialty types. Of all the different possible formulations, sugar-free seems to be the most popular, yet in the past, even the sugar-free Girl Scout cookies that have been offered have had to be discontinued due to lack of demand. Our baker's continue to experiment and develop formulations that balance the best tasting cookies using the healthiest ingredients.