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Girl Scout Cookies arrive in central Indiana

Girl Scout Cookies arrive

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — More than 2 million boxes of Girl Scout Cookies are stacked and waiting for distribution in central Indiana, and the Girl Scouts say they can’t wait to hand them out.

The shipment from Little Brownie Baker in Louisville, Kentucky, came this week, and News 8’s “All Indiana” got a sneak peek inside the Planes Storage Co. warehouse on the east side to see the load.

Deana Potterf, chief communications officer with the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, says 200,000 cases of cookies were delivered. She says half are ordered cookies and half will be sold in front of grocery stores and door to door, and through the Scouts’ new e-commerce webpages.

“It’s so much more than the cookies than themselves. They’re really delicious but at the same time you’re really helping support the Girl Scouts,” Potterf said. “You’re helping that girl learn marketing, people skills, business ethics, entrepreneurship. She actually has a digital cookie website that she can build now.”

Girl Scout Cookies are a cultural phenomenon partly because of the popular flavors but also because there are 1.7 million Girl Scouts nationwide, including 25,000 in central Indiana’s 45 counties. Chances are if you haven’t eaten a Girl Scout cookie, you’ve met a Girl Scout.

Potterf says sales in front of grocery stores will begin Valentine’s Day and last through mid-March. Each box is $5 this year and, once again, buyers can choose to donate a box to Operation Cookie Drop, the service project that sends cookies to local military service members and veterans. They also go out to firefighters, police officers and other emergency responders.

“Patriotism and service are really at the foundation of the Girl Scouts and so this is a great way for us to take all that community enthusiasm to support those hard-working people,” Potterf said.

Last year, more than 76,000 boxes of cookies were donated to Operation Cookie Drop. Potterf says their No. 1 drop-off spot is Stout Army Air Field in Indianapolis. The military members there also receive milk from partner Prairie Farms to go with their cookies.

Girl Scout Cookie trivia

Question: What’s the post popular cookie in central Indiana?

Answer: Thin Mint. The Girl Scouts reports 30% of this year’s shipment were Thin Mints! Samoas are No.2 followed by Tagalongs.

Q: What’s the name of the new cookie the Girl Scouts are selling this year?

A: Lemon-Ups, featuring positive messages on lemon-flavored shortbread. The Scouts retired the powdered, lemon-flavored Savannah Smile this year.

Q: There is only one time since its inception that the Girl Scouts haven’t sold cookies. When was it?

A: Girl Scout Cookies were not sold during World War II, due to a flour and sugar shortage. (Instead, the scouts sold calendars.)

Q: According to local Girl Scout leaders, what is the strangest way someone has picked up their troop’s shipment of cookies from the warehouse?

A: A hearse.

Q: According to local Girl Scout leaders, what is the best way to enhance the flavor of Girl Scout Cookies?

A: It’s a four-way tie: freezing a Thin Mint: deep-frying a Samoa, which is done at the Indiana State Fair; eating any of the cookies with milk: and trying some of the savory Girl Scout Cookie dishes at the annual Cook Off at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse in February.