By: Kiana Diamond and Michelle Hernandez

   You’re walking into Vons or Albertsons to get your favorite bag of chips after school and on your way in, you see a booth crowded with young Girl Scouts with hope in their eyes and boxes in their hands. “Would you like to buy a box of girl scout cookies,” they say with an innocent smile on their faces. How could you say no to a kindergartener entrepreneur?

From February through March, the Girl Scouts offer nine cookie flavors including a new one debuting for the first time this year, Exploremores. Delicious cookies are sold once a year, making our tastebuds leap with joy, while also supporting a good cause. The Girls Scouts as a program teach young girls leadership skills, business skills, and community service. Profits from the cookie sales go toward their troop to help them afford troop activities and service projects.

“Girl Scout cookies have become part of our culture,” junior Don Ramirez said. “Selling them helps the Girl Scouts gain more skills as well as bring together the community.” 

But are the Girl Scout cookies themselves really worth all the hype?

    Fan favorite flavors include Thin Mints, a chocolatey mint cookie, and Samoas a mix of chocolate, caramel, and coconut flavoring. Trefoils, Toffee-Tastics, and Lemon-Ups are also well loved amongst buyers. 

The process the girls go through includes setting troop goals, pre-ordering from the factory, engaging in direct sales with booths and houses as well as online orders. Girls learn business skills by planning, taking orders, and delivering cookies.

“Not only are we just selling cookies, but learning such tangible skills that will help us in the long run when we enter the professional world,” senior Cayla Matsumoto, a Girl Scout of over 10 years, said. 

Even if you do not want to buy a box of cookies you can still show support. You can donate money instead that will go to organizations like Operation Gratitude and Blue Star Mothers, which are programs that help provide daily essentials to people who have served or are serving the U.S.

 As delicious as these cookies may be, the price tag may not be so pleasant. Most cookies cost six dollars and if you want their Gluten-free cookie option Toffee-Tastic, you have to pay seven. 

“These cookies can be overhyped because I feel the quality isn’t anything too special,” junior Manya Kapur said. “You can find something similar at any supermarket for cheaper.”

Even though the price can be high, buying Girl Scout cookies is more than just about enjoying a sweet treat . They are about supporting an organization that teaches young girls that they can be leaders and entrepreneurs even when society often downplays female abilities and skills.

So whether it’s in front of your local grocery store or at a booth in your neighborhood, buy some cookies, and young girls’ futures.