Grubhub to deliver Girl Scout cookies

Here’s a bit of good news for Girl Scout cookie fans.

Girl Scout cookies will be available for order and delivery through GrubHub beginning Feb. 1 in select markets across the country.

The service could be available in the Chicago area by mid-February as soon as safety protocols can be established to keep Scouts, parents, volunteers and delivery drivers safe, according to Julie Somogyi, spokeswoman for Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana.

“We’re trying to navigate how we do this safely,” Somogyi said.

Local Girl Scout councils were left to coordinate specific safety measures in line with city and state governments. Under the arrangement, Grubhub drivers will pick up cookie orders from distribution hubs staffed by chaperoned Scouts working in shifts, Somogyi said.

Cookies are available online for shipping or delivery by individual Girl Scout troops.

The tradition of Girl Scouts selling cookies outside of local businesses has been suspended due to the pandemic, Somogyi said.

“We’re in a holding pattern, but we hope to resume selling in front of local shops like grocery stores and hardware stores at some point this cookie season,” she said.

Girl Scout cookie season runs from January to late March or early April.

The Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana covers six counties in the Chicago area and four in Northwest Indiana and includes about 26,500 scouts, Somogyi said.

“Grubhub makes selling cookies not only safer for girls, but local Girl Scouts also get hands-on experience in managing e-commerce, where they will track and fulfill orders, manage inventory, and more, all using Grubhub’s back-end technology,” Grubhub said in announcing the deal.

Grubhub said it is waiving all commission fees for Girl Scouts USA.