Girl Scout Cookies from Home Program, Apps and Recipes

Girl Scout cookies go on sale at booths in the Tampa Bay area on Feb. 25.

If you crave Thin Mints, Tagalongs or Somoas, imagine what its like to be serving in the U.S. Military overseas when it’s Girl Scout cookie time. Even if you’re not a “cookie monster,” you can still contribute to the Cookies from Home Program for military troops through the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida.

The program sends Girl Scout cookies directly to U.S.  troops serving in combat zones through a partnership with Support Our Troops. Last year, 45,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies were donated to U.S. military troops. And the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines did more than eat them, the troops also used the cookies to create bonds with village children.

Thin Mints is a traditional favorite of Girl Scout cookie lovers.

“…thank you for allowing my team to give out your cookies to the needy families in Iraq. Without your help, my job would be considerably harder,” wrote a soldier serving on a reconstruction liaison team in Baghdad.

Donations to the Cookies from Home Program may be made in person at Girl Scout booth sales which begin Feb. 25 or online at Girl Scouts of West Central Florida through March 20.

It won’t be difficult to find a Girl Scout cookie booth in the Tampa Bay area. The Girl Scouts of West Central Florida are participating in a pilot program that offers a mobile phone app that will locate the nearest Girl Scout cookie booths. The app will list the dates and times the booths will operate in Hillsobourgh, Polk and Pinellas north to Citrus, Hernando and Sumter counties.
 
The app can be downloaded free by calling **GSCookies  (**472665437) from a mobile phone, or by searching for “Cookie Locator” in the iPhone App Store or Android Market Place.

You can also go to the West Central Florida Girl Scout web site and search for a Girl Scout Cookie Booth by zip code using the cookie booth locater system.

And if you find you have an abundance of cookies, the West Central Florida Girl Scout Council also made some Girl Scout cookie recipes available from their Dessert First competition last fall. Additional recipes are available from the West Central Florida Girl Scout’s baker, Little Brownie. Each cookie has its own set of recipes.