Hudson Valley Girl Scouts Plan Huge Increase to Cookie Prices

Hudson Valley residents are going to have to pay quite a bit more for Thin Mints this year.

We're still four months away from Girl Scout Cookie season, but the local Hudson Valley chapter already has some bad news for customers.

Even as inflation is starting to ease at the grocery store, our neighborhood Girl Scouts will be increasing prices by quite a bit this year due to rising costs. According to a letter obtained by CNN, the Heart of the Hudson Girl Scout chapter in the Hudson Valley is going to be increasing the price of all cookies when they go on sale in February.

Hudson Valley Girl Scouts' Secret Letter Uncovered

The email from the Girl Scouts Heart of the Hudson Valley was just intended for troop parents, but CNN has released it to the public. According to the message, cookie prices in the Hudson Valley will increase "In order to combat rising production and material costs."

The email revealed that Hudson Valley customers will need to pay a whopping 20% more per box this year. This means that cookies that were $5 last year will now cost $6. The one-dollar hike is the largest year-to-year price increase for Girl Scout Cookies in recent memory. The letter also hints that other Girl Scout chapters are expected to follow suit.

Will Prices Ever Come Back Down?

The 20% increase is being blamed on production and material expenses, but once those costs come down can we expect cookie prices to return to $5 a box? It's unknown what the future holds, but one would hope that the Girl Scouts would follow ethical sales practices and pass any future savings onto customers.

The Girl Scout Cookie sale is touted as a way to teach young girls about business and economics. It would be great to teach future business owners that if you have to raise prices when costs increase, it's good business to roll back those increases once costs settle back down.