Growing up, I was a Girl Scout from elementary through high school. As a shy kid, especially in large settings, it saved me from being a super depressed kid. I had a community of friends that were taught to be understanding and compassionate to all and I always fit in. When my daughter was born I could not wait to have her share in this childhood passion of mine and am happy to know she enjoys it as much as I did.

In my troops we took part in helping our community and those less fortunate. We learned to be understanding of differences whether it was cultural or religious and accepting others for being fellow humans rather than whatever other labels they may have had. We also learned good work ethic, finishing what we started and to not give up no matter how challenging things may get. These are my memories, but now being the parent of a vegan child in scouts I am experiencing first hand that the those responsible for running the big show, at least in Washington State aren’t always as understanding or compassionate to the uniqueness of their scouts and at the end of the day it is about making money. In their Q & A (towards the bottom of the page) section they say they do not make vegan as well as other cookies for those with dietary needs because there isn’t enough of a demand.

With that said I need to state that the troop my daughter is in is amazing. The leader goes out of her way to make sure that our little vegan isn’t left out and has been very proactive in learning about our lifestyle. Kudos to our troop!

Recently, Vegan.com wrote about some Girl Scout Cookies having vegan options, depending on the region (click here to read.) Unfortunately, troops in western Washington have opted to use Little Brownie who have gone as far as to boast about using sustainable palm oil and from what I can tell they don’t use High Fructose Corn Syrup which are two pluses but they put whey in those cookies that could be otherwise vegan (depending on the sugar source of course.) So unfortunately, the cookies that my daughter would be required to sell in order to help support her troop do not offer a vegan option.

After a family discussion we opted out of selling. However, we still wanted to be able to help support our troop but knew the little vegan wouldn’t learn anything if mommy and daddy simply handed over a check. As a family we decided to contribute in a different way (we borrowed this idea from another young vegan who did the exact same thing last year.)

Carrot Cake

So here is our pitch:
Picture a little 7-year-old girl scout coming to your door or standing in front of your local grocery store asking you to buy Girl Scout Cookies, but instead we are asking Seattle friends to come to Wayward (who is kind enough to let us set up shop there) Saturday, February 25th starting at 2PM to buy a slice of cake. We will split all earnings between the little vegans troop and The Pigs Peace Sanctuary. The cake options will be Cookies and Cream, Carrotand a new one I am going to attempt to make, a Coconut

Cookies & Cream

Somoa Cake because they use to be my favorite Girl Scout Cookies.

Let’s tell Girl Scouts that there is a need for a vegan option! If you would like to tell the Girl Scouts or Little Brownie Bakery what you think, you may contact them by following the links below:

Girl Scouts of Western Washington

Girl Scouts of the USA

Samoas Cake

Little Brownie Bakery

Now off to bake. I will post pictures of the actual cakes when they are done and let you know the outcome of the Somoa cake. Thanks for reading!