GIRL SCOUT COOKIE TRAUMA

When I started this blog I said no doubt my attempts to change my lifestyle would be full of hypocrisy.  I got hit full in the face with it this week with my daughter's Girl Scout cookie sale.  She's a 7 year old Daisy and this is her first cookie sale.  They're hoping to have the girls average 40 boxes of cookies each.  Sigh...

I'm trying to dramatically reduce our food expenditures this year.  Even more important, I'm trying to greatly reduce our garbage output and make "greener" purchases.  What do I do, then, about cookies that are housed in a plastic tray surrounded by plastic wrap and inside a cardboard box?  Hardly eco-friendly.  And the $3.50 per box price tag?  Not the most expensive snack in the world but hardly a frugal option either.  I know this is the most important fundraiser for the girls and even on a social level it's almost a rite of passage for a Girl Scout to sell cookies.

What to do?  How do I balance my ecological concerns with the money making necessity of the cookie sale?  How do I justify buying overpriced boxes of cookies?  My daughter's very young and door to door selling would terrify her.  I know I'll be spending some time with the troop sitting outside grocery stores hawking our goods but there's no guarantee of success there.  Relatives have been helpful in meeting that 40 box quota, but what about the rest?  Do I buy them myself?  Do I scour the neighborhood begging subdivision inhabitants for help?  Do I buy them but donate them to the food pantry? 

I'd love to hear from anyone who has come up with the solution to my cookie dilemma.