FAQs

No. Sales links should never be posted to online resale sites (eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Swap etc.). See the Online Marketing Do’s and Don’ts for more information.

Girls may market and sell cookies online to family, friends, and the public through ABC Smart Cookies at abcsmartcookies.com, providing they review the Digital Marketing tips for Cookie Entrepreneurs, Girl Scout Digital Cookie Pledge, sign the Girl Scout Internet Safety Pledge, and follow all Girl Scout safety guidelines. Check with your Troop Cookie Coordinator or Troop Leader for more details.

No. In order to maintain good relationships with property managers, stores, and to be fair, only booth sales are allowed in non-residential areas. All booth sales must be coordinated through your Service Unit Booth Sale Coordinator.

No. Social media ads should not be purchased or donated to promote sales links.

Yes! But it is important that you let your Girl Scout lead by having her present her pitch, create a poster, and write thank you notes, etc.

Yes, provided you reside in Orange County. Between January 16–March 13, Girl Scouts may set up “lemonade” type stands to sell on the OC property where the Girl Scout currently resides (if their city and/or homeowner’s association allows).

Yes! Parents can and should chaperone their girls as they can make direct sales door-to-door, share their business pitch with parents’ co-workers and social clubs, and more.

No. While each girl should work with her troop to create her Cookie Program goals, parents determine the number of cookies to order and are responsible for payment of all cookies received.

Yes! What a fun outing for your troop and a great way to help girls reach their goals!  Current COVID-19 safety guidelines must be followed.

No. Troops may not require payment from parents in advance. Payment is collected from customers when cookies are delivered (for in-person orders). Money should be turned in to the troop as soon as possible after collected from customers.

The price of Girl Scout cookies in Orange County is $6.00 per package. The gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are $6.00 per package in Orange County.

Putting cookies in a wagon and selling direct to customers in OC residential areas. Girls require adult supervision for these efforts. A rolling sale is not a booth sale because you are walking through residential neighborhoods, NOT parks, beaches, or shopping centers.

Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors go door-to-door with a buddy in an OC residential area while the supervising adults follow in a car with the cookies. Girls require adult supervision for these efforts. Current COVID-19 safety guidelines must be followed.  Caravans are not considered booth sales because girls are only walking through residential neighborhoods.

When Girl Scouts work together to map out and walk a neighborhood selling cookies door-to-door in an OC residential area following all current COVID-19 safety guidelines. Girls require adult supervision for these efforts. Walkabouts are not considered booth sales because girls are only permitted to walk through residential neighborhoods, NOT parks, beaches or shopping centers.

GSOC Girl Scouts may begin selling cookies online to family and friends on January 16, 2022 and in person on January 29, 2022 (in person includes online girl deliveries). Each Girl Scout Council sets its own start date for the Girl Scout Cookie Program. Girls may NOT distribute, take orders, or make direct sales until Girl Scouts of Orange County’s start date – January 16, 2022. Early selling is not in keeping with good Business Ethics, and girls may lose credit for any sales made prior to the official start date.

Girls may sell cookies in person in Orange County residential areas only by going door-to-door or by setting up a cookie stand on OC residential property. Girls need permission to sell anywhere else. The only time girls may sell outside Orange County zip codes are to family members and close friends, at parent’s workplace to co-workers (not customers), and online using ABC Smart Cookies.

As Girl Scouts, we have a responsibility to our community to do all that we can to limit the spread of coronavirus. Girl Scouts of Orange County is closely monitoring recommendations from the California Department of Public Health. Visit girlscoutsoc.org for current COVID-19 safety guidelines.

Unfortunately, no; anything beyond parent and Girl Scout daughters at a booth sale is a troop activity and must meet safety guidelines requiring at least two screened and trained Girl Scout Troop Helper Adults.

Yes, but only if the location is safe for girls and customer vehicles and if the Service Unit Booth Sale Coordinator has verified that the city will allow this.

Yes! Parent/daughter teams may run a booth sale for their troop provided it is reserved by the Troop Cookie Coordinator through the Service Unit Booth Sale Coordinator. Allow for time between shifts for rest and meal breaks. Parents must complete online Adult Booth Sale training and receive specific booth sale site information from their Troop Cookie Coordinator before assisting their daughter with booth sales. The Troop Cookie Coordinator and parent must determine in advance if products being sold are to be additional girl sales, where the family is responsible for all product taken, or troop booth sale units, which can be returned to the troop. If products sold are troop booth sale units, parent must register as Girl Scout adult Troop Helpers. Please contact customercare@girlscoutsoc.org if you need help registering for this role.

es! Permission slips are required for parent/girl and troop booth sales. Permission slips are required for all girls participating in any activity. The Annual Permission & Health History form will suffice so long as the booth sale meets the requirements provided on the permission slip.

Yes! Review your Family Guide and Rewards Flyer to see what level rewards your daughter has achieved.

No. Girls/Troops may not have donation jars at booth sales because we only have permits to sell cookies, not to solicit donations. However, a “Cookie Share” jar that is collecting $5 from each customer and then providing a Cookie Share receipt is fine. For safety, a Cookie Share jar should not contain cash, but a symbolic item, such as a toy soldier or a donation card, for each purchase. If a customer says “keep the change” girls may accept it, but they should never solicit monetary donations.

Yes, troops may book booth sales online throughout the Council jurisdiction. See your Troop Cookie Coordinator for details.

Troops must cancel online via ABC Smart Cookies at least 48 hours in advance or contact their Service Unit Booth Sale Coordinator right away so another Troop can reserve the spot.

A booth sale is a Cookie Stand placed in front of a business or in any public space. Only Service Unit Booth Sale Coordinators may arrange for booth sale locations and assign troops. They secure the sites by working with the property managers and stores to ensure permissions and insurance requirements are met.

Yes! Girls and/or troops can create a social media event or schedule a live stream (with proper adult supervision). They can share their cookie link through social media or via text. Consumers can pay for their cookies with a credit card through the Smart Cookie app. Troops then arrange for contactless delivery of those cookies to their customers.

Customers click on the link and enter their zip code. Based on their location, they will then have a choice to visit an in-person retail booth or click on a troop link to order cookies that are directly shipped to them or donate cookies to the council’s charity program.

• How will GSUSA ensure that all troops have a randomized opportunity to receive sales from the link? GSUSA is working to ensure there is a randomized system in place if there are multiple troops in the same zip code.
• Will the link allow for girl delivery? The link is for direct ship, donate, and to route a customer to an in-person troop cookie booth.

No. We encourage girls to begin selling and promoting their link to family and friends as soon as the cookie season begins. When the National Girl Scout Cookie Link is launched, the link will serve as a troop virtual cookie booth. Troops will treat the virtual booth just like in-person booths. A common practice fair to all girls is to share booth cookies with all girls in the troop. Troop leaders will have the same opportunity with the virtual booth sales, all sales coming in from the booth can be equally dispersed to all girls.

As the cookies are shipped, the customer should contact the customer service link provided in their order confirmation and packing information.

Troop links will be automatically created in ABC Smart Cookies.

GSOC will upload active troops into ABC Smart Cookies and Direct Ship Troop Links will be automatically given to troops.

Links will appear in the cookie finder on February 18, 2022 (National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend).

Yes! The cookies ordered using this link will post in the Smart Booth Divider and troops can divide the cookie packages between girls in the troop.

Yes! All Girl Scout Cookies baked by ABC Bakers are certified halal.

Yes. All Girl Scout Cookies are kosher.

Yes, we have 4 vegan cookies in our product line – Lemonades, Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, and Toast-Yay! Cookies.

No. Girl Scout Cookies do not contain any added preservatives.

Girl Scouts is proud that all Girl Scout Cookies are “zero grams trans-fat per serving.”  Selected varieties can claim 100% trans-fat-free status, meaning there’s not a speck of trans-fats in the whole package.

Yes, the gluten-free Caramel Chocolate Chip cookie is nut-free and baked in a nut-free bakery.  

Yes – Caramel Chocolate Chip is gluten-free.

Girl Scouts of Orange County has been informed by our baker that they are experiencing production and transportation delays that will impact the availability of cookies in our area. There may be limited availability or delays of some cookie varieties. We are working with Girl Scouts of the USA and our baker to mitigate the impact to our troops, girls, and customers. We are committed to communicating everything we know, as we know it, and will continue to be fully transparent about the availability of cookies, specifics of which will be provided in our regular Cookie News. While these inventory issues are unfortunate, we are proud to see our Girl Scouts back in their communities selling after two challenging seasons in the pandemic.

Palm oil is an ingredient found in the majority of baked snacks sold in the United States. Per GSUSA’s licensed bakers, it is necessary to use palm oil in our cookies because of its unique ability to provide volume and texture in baked goods, usually without adding trans fats. Additionally, growing palm oil requires less land in comparison to other vegetable oils and supports the livelihoods of more than 4 million farmers globally. One of the primary goals of our Girl Scout Cookie bakers is to create the best-tasting cookies possible using the best ingredients available. The world’s food supply is intricately tied to the use of palm oil, so we believe promoting sustainable manufacturing principles is the most responsible approach for Girl Scouts and Girl Scout Cookie development. At Girl Scouts, we have an opportunity to use our strong voice to bring about positive change on this important issue, and our bakers have made the following commitments:

• GSUSA and our licensed bakers are members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization of growers, buyers, manufacturers, conservationists, and other interested parties striving to develop and follow best practices to ensure sustainability.
• Our licensed bakers are committed to using as little palm oil as possible in Girl Scout Cookies and have committed to continuing to research viable alternatives. To read more about our bakers’ positions on palm oil, visit ABC Bakers.

Thanks to the encouragement of and partnership with Girl Scout members, GSUSA and our bakers have realized the power of the Girl Scout brand to make a positive difference in the move toward sustainably produced palm oil.

We work closely with our volunteers, our girls, and our baker to put into action the very skills girls learn through the cookie program, like goal setting and inventory management. There is no such thing as left-over cookies, as we donate all remaining cookies. In addition, Orange County Girl Scouts sold more than 39,000 boxes of cookies last year through our “Cookie Share” program that were donated to the military, local food banks, and area hospitals. GSOC has not destroyed cookies, nor have we returned cookies to our baker that have later been destroyed.

Girl Scout Cookies are produced only once a year and for a limited time, so our bakers never achieve the volume required to support the specific production of specialty cookies.

No. Girls or troops may purchase their own patch in our Shop, if desired.

Additional Gluten-Free cookies will most likely not be available. The gluten-free cookies are limited in supply and will not be available in cookie cupboards. Use Smart Cookies to allow your customers to purchase gluten-free cookies online.

Yes, our Caramel Chocolate Chip cookies are Gluten-Free Certified and baked in a gluten-free facility.

 Explain to the customer, “Our troop does not have any gluten-free cookies in stock, but you can order them from me through our Council’s Digital Cookie option and have them shipped directly to you.” Then log into Smart Cookies and send your customer the special-order link or use your Smart Cookies mobile app to take the order!

Explain to the customer, “Our troop sold out of the gluten-free cookies, but you can order them from through our Council’s Digital Cookie option and have them shipped directly to you.”  Then log into Smart Cookies and send your customer the special-order link or use your Smart Cookies app to take the order.

Gluten Free Cookie orders are placed prior to the Cookie Program to allow the Baker to know the amount needed for our Troops.

Proposition 65 is a California law that requires a clear and reasonable warning to consumers for products that contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. Some Girl Scout Cookie Products contain the chemical acrylamide, which was discovered in 2002 and is formed by the reaction of naturally occurring sugars and a particular amino acid when food is cooked at higher temperatures, such as when baked, roasted, or fried. With few exceptions, the chemicals in food that appear on the Proposition 65 list are not intentionally added to food. They are picked up from the soil or formed during cooking or other processes.

You have likely seen Proposition 65 statements at various restaurants and establishments that carry food. Proposition 65 includes a very wide range of safety factors when determining what chemicals are included on the Proposition 65 list. Given the difficulty of determining what is a carcinogen and the extremely wide range of safety factors used by California, there is often a great deal of controversy regarding chemicals added to the Proposition 65 list. The purpose of Proposition 65 is to alert consumers to potential risk and enable them to make an informed decision regarding the products they consume.

WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals, including acrylamide, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to http://p65warnings.ca.gov/food.

If a customer asks about the Prop 65 warning, you or your Girl Scout can explain that in accordance with California law, consumers will now see this warning in many restaurants, grocery stores, and even hardware stores. The purpose of the Proposition is to alert customers so they can make informed decisions regarding the products they consume. With few exceptions, the chemicals in food that appear on the Proposition 65 list are not intentionally added to the food. They are formed during the cooking, baking, or other process.

The website for Prop 65 is p65warnings.ca.gov.