Patch Bloomingdale-Riverview, FL --**The perennial tradition anticipated by cookie lovers across the country kicked off this week.
Girl Scouts began selling their popular assortment of cookies Monday, Jan. 7.
However, this year consumers of Thin Mints, Tagalongs and Samoas will notice a change. Their favorite cookies will come wrapped in new packaging.
Girl Scout cookie packaging has been completely redesigned to showcase more about the impact of the cookie program on girls’ skill development.
For those collectors out there, this is the last year to purchase what is now referred to as “classic packaging.” The new packaging will be available this year and in years moving forward. The cookie box size and cookie amounts will remain the same.
The cookies are being sold by girls throughout the eight-county jurisdiction of the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, including Hillsborough.
Through the cookie program, girls learn goal setting, money management, decision making, people skills and business ethics.
Through Jan. 27, local Girl Scouts will take orders for Do-Si-Dos, Dulce de Leche, Samoas, Tagalongs, Thank You Berry Munch, Thin Mints, Trefoils and, returning for a second year due to its popular 100^th-anniversary debut, the Savannah Smiles.
Cookies will be delivered starting Feb. 12.
Friday, Feb. 22 marks the start of* *booth sales. Cookie connoisseurs can visit www.gswcf.org
and search for a Girl Scout cookie booth by zip code using the cookie booth locater system.Cookie fans with smart phones can download the free Girl Scout cookie locator (Kellogg) app by calling **GSCOOKIES (**472665437) from their phones or by searching for “Cookie Locator” in the iPhone App Store or Android Market Place.
Cookie booth sales end Sunday, March 17.
For those who want to support Girl Scouting in their communities but don’t want to enjoy the cookies themselves, GSWCF offers its Cookies from Home Program. Donations of cookies through the Cookies from Home Program will be sent directly to military troops serving in combat zones overseas through a partnership with Support Our Troops.
Donations to the Cookies from Home Program may be made in person through a Girl Scout at any time during the cookie program, through March 17.
For more information, visit www.gswcf.org/cookies or call (800) 881-4475, ext. 1778. Reported by Patch 4 hours ago.