Gluten-free nuts and candy? Yes...

Being gluten intolerant doesn’t mean you have to forego buying nuts and candy from your favorite Girl Scout.

Girls who are members of the Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan are selling 21 different nut and/or candy products and 14 of these are gluten-free, according to Reggie Mahoney, a Battle Creek-based sales consultant for Ashdon Farms which makes and distributes the products to about 83 Girl Scout councils nationwide.

Cashews, which come in a tin, are Ashdon’s topseller.  Like all of the other nut varieties sold by Ashdon they are gluten-free as are many of the chocolate items such as chocolate covered raisins and peanuts.  A gluten-free symbol has been added to the product packaging to make these products easier to identify.

This annual product sale, which also includes magazine subscriptions, helps troops earn money to cover the cost of supplies and activities.  In addition, the money raised is used to fund the startup of newly-formed Girl Scout troops.

“This product sale is tailored to meet the Five Skills program which is an integral piece of the essential life skills girls learn in Girl Scouts,” said Laurie Skrzynski, senior product program specialist with Girl Scouts Heart of Michigan.  “Girls learn how to set goals; make decisions about how the profits will be spent; how to manage money; how to deal with people; and how to operate an ethics-based business.”

Troops have used the proceeds from the previous sales of nuts, candy and magazines to cover the cost of community service projects and trips domestically and internationally.  They also have used the money they raise to purchase supplies for troop activities.

“We are a girl-led organization which means the girls are the ones making decisions about how to spend the money,” Skrzynski said.

The nut and candy products are available for purchase on the GSHOM website at http://www.gshom.org/support/buycookiesandmore/candy.html or at any one of GSHOM’s five regional centers located in Jackson, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Saginaw and Ypsilianti/Ann Arbor from November 15 until December 15.  Limited quantities of products including chocolate-covered almonds and salsa mix are also available for purchase.

Please contact your local Girl Scout regional office or visit our website at www.gshom.gshom.org for more information.