CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Mountaineer Food Bank will have no shortage of cookies courtesy of the Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council.
The council donated around 18,000 boxes of Girl Scout Cookies to the food bank on Wednesday in Charleston, as both parties have felt the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beth Casey, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Black Diamond Council told 580-WCHS that it has forced them to have thousands of extra boxes.
“Our girl scout cookie sales really kick in in March when our girls actually have cookies in hand. They do a lot of booth sales at local stores and that was the same time that COVID really kicked in and so our girls really missed out on a lot of opportunities this spring,” she said.
Casey said the council works with several non-profits in the area but Mountaineer Food Bank works with 48 different counties so they felt it would have a wide reach and cover a lot of our girl scout jurisdiction.
Gabriela Bonazzo with Mountaineer Food Bank said the cookies will go to 48 counties. She said the food bank has seen a 40 percent increase in demand for assistance since the pandemic started.
“We are planning to distribute those cookies throughout our service area here in West Virginia. More than likely they will distributed through our mobile food pantry program. We know that families and individuals who attend our mobiles will be thrilled to receive that product,” she said.