© Brad Heineman/Imagn
It’s been around a century since the Girl Scouts dreamed up one of the most beloved fundraisers of all time by partnering with bakeries to pump out cookies they could sell to raise money. Many troops set up shop in public in the hopes of luring in people who can resist the urge to buy some boxes, but one group in New Jersey has reportedly landed in hot water after teaming up with a marijuana dispensary.
Girl Scout cookies have a history that stretches back to 1917, as a troop in Oklahoma is credited with being the first one to whip up some homemade batches for a bake sale. In the 1930s, the organization partnered with commercial bakeries that pumped them out on a larger scale, which spawned the annual tradition we know and love today.
January marks the start of Girl Scout Cookie season, which usually wraps up when the yearly supply is exhausted in April.
We live in a magical time where it’s possible to order them online and have them delivered directly to your door, but they’ve traditionally been peddled by Girl Scouts who can take advantage of their parents’ network of friends and coworkers and boost sales by setting up a table outside a business that’s agreed to host them.
That’s what one dispensary in New Jersey agreed to do this year, but the troop they partnered with called off a scheduled sale after seemingly drawing the ire of their parent organization.
A Girl Scout troop in New Jersey canceled plans to sell cookies outside a dispensary after ruffling some feathers
Girl Scout cookies basically sell themselves, and many troops will take advantage of that reality by setting up in front of stores and in areas with heavy foot traffic to entice people who have trouble resisting the urge to snag a box (or five) when that opportunity presents itself.
You can theoretically increase sales by targeting places that are frequented by people with a sweet tooth and a healthy appetite, but identifying those hot spots is easier said than done. With that said, a marijuana dispensary would probably be at the top of the list of prime locations, and one group of Girl Scouts in New Jersey decided to pounce on an opportunity that presented itself last month.
According to NJ.com, Daylite Dispensary in Mount Laurel extended an offer to a local Girl Scout troop to sell cookies outside the establishment, figuring it would be a win-win that would allow them to raise money while catering to the needs of customers who would likely find themselves dealing with a case of the munchies in the not-so-distant future.
Owner Steve Cassidy said the initial sale, which took place on February 20th, was a huge success, and the unidentified troop was slated to return on the evening of March 6th to try to replicate it.
However, he told The Independent he was contacted by “representatives from the organization” who apparently made it clear they were not thrilled about the optics of Girl Scouts posting up in front of a pot shop with their cookies, adding:
“It was about community. If that means the local Girl Scout troop got in trouble, that is absolutely not what we wanted.”
The sale that was scheduled for Friday has subsequently been called off, which is somewhat understandable but still a bit of a bummer.