The Girl Scouts earn a Cheapskate patch: Fewer cookies in the box this year
Filed under: Budgets, Food, Kids and Money, Shopping
The Girls Scouts of the U.S.A. have announced that because of the economy, fewer cookies will be packaged into boxes of Thin Mints, Do-si-dos, and Tagalongs. And it gets worse. The Lemon Chalet Creme cookies are getting smaller, too.
Perhaps sensing the rumblings of a national riot, a rep for the Girl Scouts in Texas, where bigger is better, was quick to explain. Flour prices have gone up by 30%, and cocoa by 20%.
"We aren't talking about a drastic change. We are just talking about a couple cookies," said the rep. Well, yes, but the boxes are also getting smaller, so the Scouts will save on packaging, too.
It was either reduce the portions or raise the price of a box above the current $3.50-to-$4 threshold, she said. Of course, it still means you'll be paying more per cookie than you were last year. And they weren't a great deal to begin with: One blogger noted back in 2005 that even with 15 cookies in a box, the price worked out to nearly a quarter for each little cookie.
Tagalongs, in case you were wondering, are the chocolate-coated ones with the peanut butter-like substance in the middle. (And they're not subject to the current recall, so thank goodness for small blessings.) My favorite cookie variety, the Samoa, is apparently not among the reduction victims, which is kind of too bad, because that leaves me without a good excuse to pack my freezer full of them so they get nice and cold, the way I like them.
America's most beloved springtime treats are shrinking each season, and because they vanish for eight months at a time, it's not easy to put two and two together to realize you're getting less for your money. Two years ago, The Office actor B.J. Novak went on Conan O'Brien and proved something that many of us were suspecting for years: The Cadbury Creme Egg has been steadily shrinking. Cadbury tried denying it, but it was useless. Novak had kept some eggs from seasons past and he compared the old and new sizes on network TV. Cadbury had to reword its literature to shuffle the fallout under the carpet.
At least the Girl Scouts are being up front about their new, more meager proportions. Is that what they call Scout's Honor?
Perhaps sensing the rumblings of a national riot, a rep for the Girl Scouts in Texas, where bigger is better, was quick to explain. Flour prices have gone up by 30%, and cocoa by 20%.
"We aren't talking about a drastic change. We are just talking about a couple cookies," said the rep. Well, yes, but the boxes are also getting smaller, so the Scouts will save on packaging, too.
It was either reduce the portions or raise the price of a box above the current $3.50-to-$4 threshold, she said. Of course, it still means you'll be paying more per cookie than you were last year. And they weren't a great deal to begin with: One blogger noted back in 2005 that even with 15 cookies in a box, the price worked out to nearly a quarter for each little cookie.
Tagalongs, in case you were wondering, are the chocolate-coated ones with the peanut butter-like substance in the middle. (And they're not subject to the current recall, so thank goodness for small blessings.) My favorite cookie variety, the Samoa, is apparently not among the reduction victims, which is kind of too bad, because that leaves me without a good excuse to pack my freezer full of them so they get nice and cold, the way I like them.
America's most beloved springtime treats are shrinking each season, and because they vanish for eight months at a time, it's not easy to put two and two together to realize you're getting less for your money. Two years ago, The Office actor B.J. Novak went on Conan O'Brien and proved something that many of us were suspecting for years: The Cadbury Creme Egg has been steadily shrinking. Cadbury tried denying it, but it was useless. Novak had kept some eggs from seasons past and he compared the old and new sizes on network TV. Cadbury had to reword its literature to shuffle the fallout under the carpet.
At least the Girl Scouts are being up front about their new, more meager proportions. Is that what they call Scout's Honor?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 43)
1-25-2009 @ 7:18AM
Darin said...
As the costs of everything go up and my wages stay the same...any company who reduces their portions get rewarded by becoming blacklisted im my household....I know its for a great cause....but my household comes first ....almost all name brands are banned as we have found high quality alternatives....sorry girl scouts....dont come knocking on my door
Reply
1-26-2009 @ 3:09PM
belle said...
do you realize that even store brands are changing the same way with smaller packages, less product in the package, etc.? hope you and your family can get by with tap water because that's about the only thing unaffected by the current economy.
1-26-2009 @ 3:10PM
belle said...
PS: You probably don't need to be eating cookies anyway.
1-26-2009 @ 3:22PM
pttycke said...
Do you think that little girl knocking at your door has a say in this matter or her parents or even her leader? Just like any organization these days, someone earning the big bucks is calling the shots. I'd rather have these girls knocking on your door to earn money for worthwhile adventures then spray painting your fence because of having too much time on their hands. Give the Girl Scouts a break please. At least they are trying to improve our community.
1-26-2009 @ 3:22PM
LT said...
I agree 100%. Everything goes up and the salaries stay the same.
1-26-2009 @ 5:43PM
dj said...
Someone put Frito-Lay on that blacklist. I bought a bag of "Ripples" yesterday that was a whole 10 oz. for the same price....
1-26-2009 @ 6:13PM
jennifer said...
where are these great alternatives?? There are 2 store brands which I think are as good as the big name brands, Publix and Harris Teeter. But neither of them are cheap.
1-26-2009 @ 8:30PM
Nancy said...
Its a fundraiser.
1-26-2009 @ 10:43PM
kathe said...
i am a girl scout leader in ca. we are keeping the price at 3.50 instead of going up to $5 like in southern ca. My kids walk house to house for cookies sales. so their troop can pay for the girls patches and other craft stuff. I hope you never have kids that want to do something and have a fund raiser to do it. because am sure they wont get money for their stuff. a lot of people arent buying but we are still knocking on doors and thanking them anyways with a smile. so when hunger set in and you really want thin mints or carmel delights dont come asking we wont sell them to you.
1-26-2009 @ 11:49PM
vicky said...
For those who are not troop leaders, parents of girl scouts or families of girl scouts do not understand the hard work the girls put forth during cookie time. The girls can earn up to a $1.00 per box towards their troop funds. The production costs have been the same for quite some time $.89. The remaing amount goes back to the council that all the girls can benefit from. As for the cookie sizes? you loose two thin mints a box. Have any of you ever had to unload 144 oblong cases of thin mints or lemon cremes during cookie time. The two missing cookies make our cases more convenient to moving around to multiple booth sales. Lemon cremes were changed due to breakage issues with the long cookies.Plus you get more cookies this way. The girls are doing a great job in what they do given the curent economical situation, bashing girl scouts accomplishes nothing..
1-27-2009 @ 8:02AM
amber said...
Are we all seriously complaining about the loss of TWO cookies? Yes, they are expensive and yes, you don't exactly get what you pay for, but remember, buying girlscout cookies isnt just a purchase, it's a charitable donation and the oportunity to give young girls valuable insite into sales, the economy and the value of a dollar. Which by the way here its 60 cents per box for the troop. So before you whine about 2 cookies, how about just giving the little tykes a buck just out of the kindness of your heart.
1-27-2009 @ 8:13AM
Crystal said...
Thank you for your honesty but please don't be rude if a little girl asks you to buy. We instruct our girls only to go to the front doors of people that they know for safety purposes and to only go with an adult. I am sorry that you have black-listed us. Our sales are doing pretty well this year...gas is half the price it was at cookie time last year. Thank you for all your previous support!
1-27-2009 @ 9:50AM
Cheryl said...
If you think those places you are currently shopping have not scaled back...think again....check your labels, they might still be in the same size container, but you can be sure there is less product in that container...check your labels we are all paying more for less...it is across the board. At least the girlscouts were honorable enough to tell us, instead of fooling us! Hats off to the Girlscouts...nothing beats honor.
1-27-2009 @ 12:06PM
Steve said...
Unless you're ready to start growing your own foods and making your own clothes you should get used to it. Raw materials costs are going up everywhere and you are going to see price increases in one form or another.
1-27-2009 @ 2:05PM
mommy602 said...
Hey Darin, is it the Girl Scouts' fault that you have a sucky job and you don't earn raises??? My daughter is a brownie and works very hard to sell cookies so she may earn her badge and money for the troop to do activities and such. I'd rather (my waistline) miss a few cookies than to add .50 to each box. I like the alternative. So, don't blame the little girls that work so very hard.
1-27-2009 @ 8:26PM
Dave said...
I went through fundraising with my kids asking for donations in the '90s. I now support most programs for kids that I can. It's my turn to help. Besides the cookies taste great !!!!
2-16-2009 @ 5:00PM
Jason said...
I'm behind you all the way! I first noticed this with Snickers a couple years back. Untill I can give my company less hours for the same pay, They shouldn't give us less product for the same pay. Period!
1-28-2009 @ 5:19PM
cv said...
I wonder how much of the profit from the sale of the cookies goes to the girl scout organization. If they had left the cookies the same size and amounts in the box, I would have paid for the increase in costs. However, since the price was not lowered and the product shrank I will not buy their product this year. Girls should not have to go door to door to sell these products and hear the raft of consumers. You know somebody will look at the smaller box and say something. They should market them in stores and be done with the door to door sales. They are saving money by not distributing to stores nationwide so why the reduction in product????
Reply
1-26-2009 @ 2:47PM
Debi said...
The Girl Scout organizations (from the individual troop to the council to the national Girl Scouts) keep over $2.50 per box; if you do the math, that means you pay $1.00 to $1.50 per box of cookies. You also have the option of "purchasing" cookies which are donated to local food shelves, or simply donating cash. This particular fundraiser teaches the girls so many skills (marketing, salesmanship, community reinvestment) that it would be shame not to support it. We will continue to support their endeavors - GO GIRL SCOUTS!!!
1-26-2009 @ 2:57PM
B said...
About .60 cents out of $3.50