No, you should not buy more, because Girl Scout cookies are supposed to be sold by Girl Scouts, not by their parents.

Aaaaaargh. This is a huge pet peeve of mine.

I bought some at work once, and they stayed in my drawer here. I swear, the one box, consumed over several months, put 10 pounds on my bod.

Only one way to find out. Send them to me!

Hehe, sick of being hit up for sales, BoringPostcards?

They're chock-full of preservatives, and if they're still in the plastic wrapper and sealed, I'm sure they're fine.

For heavens' sake, they're at least that old by the time you first get them!

I don't know. I was a Scout, and selling yourself is pretty overrated. Door-to-door doesn't work well any more because of (a)freaked-out parents and their safety concerns and (b) the fact that no one is home during the day any more. The only way to make real dollars is to have parents bring the order form to work.

That said, the whole cookie thing is not such a hot deal anyway. The vast bulk of the funds raised goes to Girl Scouts USA (which, admittedly, administers a terrific program and creates opportunities nationwide). Only cents on the box -- under thirty cents for each, I think -- goes to the girl's actual troop. If your goal is to support a local troop, you're better off participating in one of their own troop-driven fundraisers, from which they can keep all the proceeds, minus costs, and learn the actual planning and business skills, from production to marketing to delivery, that cookie sales are sort of supposed to teach but don't really (since all the work is done for the girls).

Not that I've thought about this a lot or anything.

I swear, there's a form selling something for some school fundraiser or other being passed around here at least once a week. It's insane.

I live in a neighborhood where sometimes you get an honest-to-god kid knocking on your door selling stuff to raise money for band or a trip or whatever, and I ALWAYS buy something from them, just because they're out there doing it themselves instead of asking their parents to do it for them.

A year? By now they've blossomed into Woman Scout Cookies, I'd imagine.

That wasn't a response to you, Miko... I hadn't seen your post.

danf: That's why I've put off eating them! I keep them on the top shelf so of I really want one, I have to get a ladder. Most of the time I'm too lazy. :)

My Dad still allows his employees to sell Girl Scout Cookies only because the product themselves are so popular. But everything else he banned. It got to the point where people were bringing in their spouse's AmWay catalogs.

Yea, I think letting people sell in the office is a slippery slope. My boss (old job; summer waitressing/office work at yacht club) once brought in his kid's gift catalog, and suggested we all purchase something. I liked the job enough to go through the catalog and quickly buy the cheapest thing available (I think it was a $10 cup of gummy worms). I never even bothered to pick it up.

I can eat a whole box of Thin Mints in a day.

Are the Girl Scouts as anti-gay and anti-atheist as that other well-known Scouting organization?

From what I've read, box, no, they aren't.

http://buygirlscoutcookies.com/

That can't possibly be allowed?!?

Are they made from real Girl Scouts?

Years later that still cracks me up.

They're not affiliated with the Boy Scouts at all, box. (I won't buy their damn popcorn.)

Save me some Samoas, pleeeeeze!!

Are the Girl Scouts as anti-gay and anti-atheist as that other well-known Scouting organization?

NO. The Girl Scouts are the polar opposite of the Boy Scouts in this regard. They're not prescriptive about who you have to be or who you might become; they're all about empowering girls and encouraging self-determination. The Girl Scout philosophy is surprisingly progressive.

This doesn't always become obvious, becuase at the troop level, the individual leaders set the tone for their groups. Some of them are a bit regressive or just ho-hum and traditional (pom-pom crafting,

Seconding Mico... the cookies wouldn't do squat for our troop, according to my mom who was the leader. My mom said the real moneymaker was things like the calenders we'd sell (wall and purse sized) and things she organized without GSUSA, like candy bar sales via a local chocolate maker.
However, I do remember the cookies somehow linked to special patches you couldn't get any other way, which I always wanted.

But really, the point of GS cookies isn't to get them because they're good and you like them on hand. (although I would gladly kill with a smile for some samoas now). It's to support the organization, which really is a wonderful thing. Shoot, I'd volunteer to lead a troop if I didn't get home so late from work.

I like when people sell them at work. I live in an urban area, in an apartment. We don't get kids door-to-door, and even if we do, I bet they show up long before I'm even home from work.

And box... the girl scouts are not bigoted like the boy scouts. They welcome girls who do not worship a monotheistic god, or any god, and have alternate variations of the girl scout promise that removes the word god for troops that prefer it, and they do not officially support or condone prayer in meetings (my troop did pray, but it was also affiliated with a catholic school, where all the girls were students. From what I know that was the exception, not the norm, and our assistant leader was a nun.).
They also have a don't-ask, don't-tell policy on any sexualities, gay or straight. (the actual stand is that any discussion of sexuality or expressions of it, gay or straight, are looked down on. it's just as bad to push a hetero agenda as a gay one according to them). Lesbians are more than welcome as troop leaders. I've known a few, too, so it's not just lip service.

They also partner with Planned Parenthood sometimes, to teach older girls about birth control and self esteem issues.

In fact, GSUSA is so damn liberal someone founded a group called American Heritage Girls that's the religious right answer to girl scouts. (according to wikipedia).

Needles to say, I'm a huge supporter of the girl scouts.

Yay Kelly. Me too.

the religious right answer to girl scouts

and what do they sell, communion wafers?

No, you should not buy more, because Girl Scout cookies are supposed to be sold by Girl Scouts, not by their parents.

Aaaaaargh. This is a huge pet peeve of mine.

Actually, they are a fundraiser for the benefit of Girl Scouts. The way I see it, the more they sell, the better it is for the girls, even if it means mom & dad sell some.

I can eat a whole box of Thin Mints in a day.

It takes you that long???

Rant on Boy Scouts:

I used to be quite involved with the Boy Scouts, and used to defend them on forums like this. But when they would give a boy his Eagle rank even though he told them he was an atheist, then take it away a few years later, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

I can think of several reasons to include atheists, even if one wants to view Boy Scouts as a "Christian" (whateverthehell that means these days) organization:

1. Finding out someone believes differently than you and cutting them off because of it only reinforces their viewpoint that Christianity is inherently hypocritical. Treating someone with respect, as you would like to be treated.... well, didn't the Big Guy say something along those lines?

2. A good leader that displays the character traits you are trying to instill in the boys should be embraced, regardless of whether he is a Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist or atheist (guess which one of these groups can or can't be Scouts? only the atheist is excluded.

3. The two points of Scout Oath and Law that people point to when dismissing atheists, can be easily followed by an atheist scout. The Oath commands that one do is duty to "God and my country". God can be viewed as that which an individual holds as the highest intelligence and/or authority in the universe; to an atheist, this could be the laws of nature or perhaps the human intellect. Being true to ones intellect or working with nature could be construed as an atheist's duty to "God". Scout law states a scout is "Reverant". For an atheist, this simply means that one should respect another's creed. Sadly, BSA violates their own law by a policy of exclusion of a certain group because of a difference in creed.

Interestingly, my sons' troop had an openly atheist/agnostic scout. We never made a big deal of it. The way I saw it, I wanted to build character in young men, regardless of creed.

I could go on, but what's the point? They won't be changing anytime soon.

Doohickie--You rock hard. Like Gibraltar.
*smooch*

Thanks, I think.

Agreed.

Good for you, Doohickie.

I was a Girl Scout, and loved it. They've chosen to be very progressive, and deserve support.

It's a shame the Boy Scouts have gotten bogged down in religion, because they have a lot to offer, but the anti-gay, pro-religion, rightwing stance sucks.