HELENA — Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Patties, or Lemonades: whichever Girl Scout cookie you like best can now be ordered, as the Montana and Wyoming Girl Scouts have begun their annual cookie sales.
"I don't buy boxes. I buy cases," said Rose Frank.
She has been buying Girl Scout cookies for decades, giving them as gifts, using them to make dessert bars, and keeping them frozen to save.
"Just buying a box makes that little girl's day. 'I got one more box'," Frank said.
There are roughly 200 Girl Scouts and 20 troops in Helena alone. This year, Frank bought cookies from Troop 3846.
"You're socializing, you're learning, and just having fun," said Mariska Miller, a Girl Scout in Troop 3846.
Troop 3846 has been saving their portion of proceeds for the past two years, and they will be using it to go on a trip to Boston this summer.
Each girl in the troop aims to sell at least 400 boxes of cookies.
"It really is about those girls' learning business skills. It takes courage for them to stand out there and ask every single person coming into whatever store they are standing at, 'Would you like to buy cookies?'" said the leader of Troop 3846, Tolly Patten.
She has been a lifetime Girl Scout, joining the organization over 30 years ago. There is one comment that Patten says her Girl Scouts get every year.
"If one person said, 'I'm on a diet,' that's one thing. But, after the 15th person saying that, then we have to kind of look at what message are we sending to these girls," said Patten.
"We hear that every year, multiple times. It is hard because you see someone you don't know [feels] that way... it's very impactful on young minds," said Miller.
"I think as they grow up, it affects them more. Like, think back to when they were five and somebody told them that they are watching their diet, so they may think that their body isn't good enough for society," another Girl Scout in Troop 3846, Tanya Ayidomihou said.
Patten says the sales are more than just a box of cookies.
"If the girls set a goal and they reach it, it's complete positivity for them. Making them feel good and knowing that they can accomplish what they set out to accomplish," said Patten.
The Girl Scouts will receive the cookies around St. Patrick's Day, and booth sales start in late March.
