KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Girl Scout cookie season is officially back, giving people across East Tennessee a chance to restock some of their favorite sweet treats.
One troop is using the annual Girl Scout cookie sale to develop members' business skills. They are also using money from the cookie sales to fund activities for troop members, and to fund community programs. They can include hiking trips, community service activities or scouting camps.
"The beauty of that is that they get to experience something they may not get to experience," said one leader of the Girl Scouts.
They said they are hoping to sell more cookies this year than they did the previous year. They said last year, they sold around 12,000 boxes of cookies. This year, they hope to sell around 15,000 boxes.
Troop members also said that they use the cookie sale program as a way to learn how to manage a business and interact with customers.
"I think it's just really fun to be able to develop leadership skills. Like, I learned during my dream budget badge, that I have to get a job that has a $90,000 salary, and it's really fun learning just cool stuff that you wouldn't learn in school," said one girl scout member.