Girl Scouts now taking cookie orders online

Girl Scouts have a new way to sell cookies this year. They’ll be doing it online, in addition to going door-to-door and standing outside stores.

Local Girl Scouts will be launching their door-to-door and online cookie sale on Sunday. Boxes are $5 each, $1 more than last year and the first price increase in a decade, according to officials. Booth sales begin Feb. 6. The cookie sale ends on March 8.

Allowing online cookie sales — a program dubbed “Digital Cookie 1.0” — is a first for the 103-year-old organization that has been having members sell cookies as a fundraiser since the first official sale by an Oklahoma troop in 1917. A majority of councils nationwide, including the San Diego Council, are allowing troops to opt into the program, according to the Girl Scouts website.

Poway Troop 8832 is among those embracing the new selling tool. Its members are Junior Girl Scouts in fourth grade at Pomerado Elementary.

Co-leader and Cookie Mom Melissa Catania said each girl has the option of setting up a personal webpage through the organization’s website. The page can feature a girl’s selling goals and progress, photo, description of her cookie selling experience and troop’s plans for the proceeds. Girls send the link to potential customers.

“It’s so our friends and family far away can order from us,” said Junior Taylor Reed. “Online is an easier way for us to sell more cookies.”

All the girls said they plan on going door-to-door and having a booth in front of stores, and some plan on also using Digital Cookie.

Catania’s daughter, Isabella, is among those who has set up a webpage.

“It’s good, because in the past my brothers bought, but they live in Illinois,” Catania said. “We’d ship them (the cookies), but worry if the chocolate will melt.”

Those concerns are eliminated with online sales, since customers making a purchase have their cookies shipped to them directly for a small fee. Catania said that’s another benefit since now the customer pays for shipping instead of the girls’ families.

Because of the shipping fee, council officials are encouraging girls to promote Digital Cookie to out-of-town customers, and using traditional sale methods with local customers.

As for other changes to the program, this year there are two new varieties — Rah-Rah-Raisins (an oatmeal cookie with raisins and Greek yogurt-flavored chunks) and Toffee-tastic (a gluten-free butter flavored cookie with golden toffee bits). Toffee-tastic’s sale is a pilot program, so there is limited availability and it cannot be purchased through Digital Cookie.

Returning are Thin Mints (the most popular variety), Samoas (the 40th anniversary for the carmel/coconut cookie), Tagalongs (peanut butter patties), Trefoils (shortbread) and Do-Si-Dos (peanut butter sandwiches).

In person and online customers can once again support Operation Thin Mint, where they purchase cookies for military personnel serving overseas.