TAMPA, Fla. — It's Girl Scout cookie time! You've probably seen the girls in green all over the Tampa Bay area selling some of your favorites.
Just last week, we got a behind-the-scenes look at the warehouse in Tampa where shipments come in. They are sorted and sent to the troops to be sold to you.
We even caught up with some Girl Scouts to find out what it means to them to be a part of the organization and why selling cookies is such a big part of that.
"Selling Girl Scout cookies is such an amazing experience. You get to go out and meet new people that you wouldn't have met otherwise and you also get to grow your own business and learn so many business skills," Jaiden Freyn-Angel said. She's in 9th grade and has been a Girl Scout since she was 5 years old.
By selling cookies, the girls learn important skills like setting goals, money management, marketing and working as a team. They also raise money to give back to the community, helping organizations like Feeding Tampa Bay.
Some of the money also funds the scout troop's adventures. Jaiden talked about what her troop is doing this year.
"My troop and I are going to Europe for two weeks this summer. We're going to Rome, Venice, Paris and London. We're even going to the Girl Guides lounge in London." Girl Guides are the Girl Scouts' counterparts in Europe.
There's a new cookie this year called Raspberry Rallies. The Girl Scouts are taking a new approach with this cookie, to teach the girls about supply chain management and starting a business. Mary Pat King is the CEO of Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.
"This year Girl Scouts USA and our bakers partnered to launch raspberry rallies and they're doing it the way a lot of times companies launch new products, online only. So we're testing to see if that online model works for our girl scouts."
And everyone has their favorite Girl Scout cookie. There are 13 flavors, but Jaiden says there's one best-seller.
"Our best seller is our Thin Mints. Everyone always loves our Thin Mints because they're chocolate, mint and they're pretty simple, but still amazing and delicious and you can put them in the freezer and have them be that much better."