80,000 boxes sold

MAT-SU — Almost as regular as death and taxes — and much more pleasant — is the annual run on Girl Scout cookies. While Alaska may be the Final Frontier, it’s hardly the last stop on the trail for the youth organization’s yearly sugar rush.

Although the nation continues its descent into a months-long economic depression, Girl Scout cookies seem immune to the belt-tightening many families are doing, said Judy Koskela, communication director for the Susitna Council of Girl Scouts, which encompasses much of Alaska.

Overall, sales of Girl Scout cookies were up this year, she said, with about 400,000 boxes of the sweet treats ordered by locals. In the Mat-Su Valley, that trend has also held strong, with about 83,000 boxes of cookies sold.

“Actually, our sales are up,” Koskela said. “We are feeling very, very grateful.”

Girl Scouts were out in force for much of the month of January taking orders and will continue delivering those orders through March 30. In the Valley, those who missed ordering in January can buy their favorite varieties of Girl Scout cookies at local grocery stores on weekends through the end of the month, said Miriam Hinther, leader for Troop 459 based in the Valley.

Hinther said cookie sales have been so strong despite leaner economic times because there are so many more girls involved.

“Actually, there are probably 20 more troops here in the Valley than there were last year, so there were more girls out selling cookies,” she said.

What’s also gratifying for state Girl Scouts is that all the money raised from the cookie sales — at $4 a box that comes out to about $1.6 million — is that local troops keep 40 cents from every box, Koskela said. For the 83,000 boxes sold in the Valley, that’s more than $33,000. Local troops also participate in council activities like camps that are funded through cookie sales.

But the real lure of the annual effort are the cookies, Hinther said. It’s when people stock up on their favorite varieties, like Thin Mints, Samoas, Tagalongs and Do-Si-Dos. Nationwide, the favorite is Thin Mints, but Alaskans order more Samoas than any other cookie, she said.

Samoas are chewy, caramel and coconut cookies.

“I also personally like the Samoas,” she said, adding that many people buy cookies by the case to freeze for the coming year.

This year’s sale also had a poignant moment when Borough Mayor Curt Menard passed away March 3, Hinther said. Two weeks prior, a couple of her Girl Scouts visited the mayor at his office. He made time for them and professed a fondness for the cookies.

“Two of my girls had gone to meet Curt Menard about two weeks ago and he donated $20 to our troop for them to go to camp,” she said. “That was totally unexpected and generous. We went to his office, and the girls  learn (by selling cookies) that their activities are not for free. The girls make the effort to go, to earn their trips.”

So what goes well with the 83,000 boxes of cookies Valley residents have bought?

“Well, that would be about 27,000 gallons of Matanuska Creamery milk,” said Karen Olson, chief financial officer for the Palmer-based creamery. “And, as long as you’re eating the calories from the cookies, you might as well go with the whole milk.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.