Category: Fall Product

Tour of Ashdon Farms

There is nothing like seeing where our fall product comes from and tasting nuts and candy right off the production line!

On August 8, 2023, service unit managers and council staff members were invited to tour Ashdon Farms, the facility where fall product nuts and candies are made.

Ashdon Farms is located in Waukesha, Wisconsin, about an hour north of the Illinois and Wisconsin border.

When we arrived, we were split into two groups to tour the production factory and the shipping warehouse.

When touring the production factory, we saw all the machines in action, including a machine coating the new Cheddar Caramel Crunch puff pieces with cheddar and caramel flavorings. 

Puff pieces getting their tasty, cheddar-caramel coating!

We also saw how technology plays a massive part in making all trail mixes. With exceptional programming on a computer, the machine knows how much of each item in a trail mix to put in the container.

When touring the shipping warehouse, we saw the endless aisles of products that filled the shelves.

We met with warehouse workers who shared facts about how fast they can put an order together and then load the truck for distribution. Warehouse worker Sandy shared with us how the fall product season is the busiest time of the year for her, causing her to work extra hours, but she takes great pride in correctly compiling all the orders. Thank you, Sandy, for all your work and dedication in putting together all our fall product orders!

The tour of Ashdon Farms was a great opportunity to see where our fall product items come from, and all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into each fall product order. Thank you to Ashdon Farms for having us and for the informative tours.

The Fall Product Program is starting soon! It will run from September 22 to October 18. Besides the many great products that are available, the Fall Product Program is also an excellent opportunity for troops to earn proceeds to fund new adventures. Don’t forget, when your troop sells at least $1,000 worth of fall product items your troop will earn an additional five cents per cookie box sold during cookie season!

For more information on the Fall Product Program, please visit our website here.

Donate to a Sweet Cause through Girl Scouts Gift of Caring 

Have you ever been in a coffee shop drive-through, and the car ahead of you has decided to pay for your entire order? It’s a wonderful feeling to be the recipient of someone who chose to pay it forward. You can join Girl Scouts through the Gift of Caring service project to make someone’s day even sweeter – literally!

 Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago and Northwest Indiana Gift of Caring service project is offered when Girl Scouts participate in selling either Fall Products or Cookies. Gift of Caring is an option on Girl Scouts order cards and online purchases. When chosen, the proceeds go directly to pay for the items that are chosen by the GCNWI Council to use as the donation. The items are then distributed to many different community-based organizations, such as the military, first responders, and essential workers.

This small gift brings pure joy and gratitude to the recipients, who share how much it means that others think of them.

Help Girl Scouts and the Community

One hundred percent of the proceeds from Gift of Caring donated products stay in the community to fund Girl Scout activities and service projects. These activities allow girls to make new friends, challenge themselves, and take action to change the world for the better.

Girl Scout helps Rush volunteers unload 800 boxes of girl scout cookies in front of the Brennan Pavilion for distribution to frontline health care workers. Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. Thursday, March 10, 2022.

Last year, our council donated more than 14,000 items during the Fall Product Program. In 2022’s Cookie Season, more than 278,956 packages of cookies were collected for Gift of Caring by our Girl Scouts. One of the many cookie drop offs was made at Rush University Medical Center where a Girl Scout Cadette helped Rush volunteers unload 800 boxes of cookies for distribution to frontline health care workers.

You Can Donate During the Fall Product Program

You can donate to the Gift of Caring service project when you purchase products in our Fall Product Program starting September 23, 2022, through October 19, 2022.

During the fall product program, can choose the amount they would like to donate, and the Girl Scouts GCNWI Council will choose the items to be given in the Gift of Caring program.

To participate, a customer simply pays the funds and marks “Care to Share” on the order card or in the online storefront. When a Girl Scout collects seven or more donations, she’ll earn the Care to Share patch. Also, when girls participate in Fall Product, they get the chance to strengthen five essential leadership skills, including goal setting, decision making, people skills, and business ethics.

If you do not know a Girl Scout, and would like to participate in the Gift of Caring service project, you can do so here.

Your support of the girls and the community is greatly appreciated.

Click here to learn more about the items available in this year’s Fall Product Program.