Local Girl Scouts see drop in cookie sales

Local Girl Scouts are selling cookies and are hoping more people buy in the coming days to help fund their service projects.

Sales are down this year for at least one local troop, said Christina Pedersen, a local mom and Marysville troop leader.

She said that the stores are not as busy, possibly because of concerns over the coronavirus.

“The grocery stores are a little more sparse this year than they were last year,” said Pedersen, who added the troop was seeing fewer sales, although she said she couldn’t speak for Girl Scouts of Western Washington as a whole.

With the coronavirus in the news and a potential outbreak happening in the state, many people could be hesitant to go out if they don’t have to.

“A lot of people are not comfortable being out in public,” said Pedersen.

Pedersen hoped to encourage those who are going out and see girl scouts to consider buying some boxes of cookies.

“We just want to get the word out that Girl Scouts are here, that were still awesome, and that we hope people will buy cookies when they’re out,” she said.

Local Girl Scout troops will be selling cookies until March 15.

“There are Girl Scouts at a bunch of different grocery stores all around town, all week,” said Pedersen.

Pedersen’s troop includes a number of local Marysville kids.

“Our troop has 10 daisies, who are in kindergarten and first grade, two brownies who are in second grade, and one cadet who is in second grade,” Pedersen said.

The money raised as part of the Girl Scout cookie sales helps local troops fund some of the projects that they hope to do throughout the year.

“The girls voted to sing holiday songs at a senior center, which we did, and they want to do a trail cleanup or a beach cleanup and they want to help the local cat shelter,” said Pedersen.

It’s good for the kids to get out and improve their town, she said.

“The kids learn how awesome community service is and how important it is to be a part of something bigger than themselves,” said Pedersen.

“It’s awesome to see six-year-olds demanding that we do community service and clean up our parks,” she said.