The Girl Scouts of the USA have a mighty problem and it’s due to the coronavirus pandemic which has now killed officially 616,150 people in the country, by far the most worldwide.
The 109-year-old organisation blamed COVID-19 for 15 million unsold cookies.
As the pandemic wore into the spring selling season in the US, many cookie booths had to be left unattended for safety reasons.
“This is unfortunate, but given this is a girl-driven program and the majority of cookies are sold in-person, it was to be expected,” said Kelly Parisi, a spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of the USA.
She added Girl Scouts of the USA forecast lower sales this year but the cookie orders placed by its 111 local councils with bakers last autumn were still too optimistic.
The impact will be felt by local councils and troops, who depend on the cookie sales to fund programs, travel, camps and other activities.
The Girl Scouts normally sell around 200 million boxes of cookies per year, or around $800 million worth.
There is hope though. The cookies have a 12-month shelf life and a donation-only website has been created.
Let’s hope people have an appetite for choc chip and raisin.
