Girl Scouts from the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey earned their Simple Meals cooking badge on September 13 and 14 at their Bloomfield and Newark McDonald’s restaurants, respectively. The event allowed leaders the opportunity to help their Girl Scouts develop valuable cooking skills such as assembling quick, yet nutritious meals for any time of the day. Simple Meals is a legacy badge for Girl Scout Juniors (ages 9-11). The purpose of the badge is to learn how to create a meal for family and friends.
The group of about 20 Girl Scouts arrived with their parents and leaders at the restaurants where they were greeted by the McDonald’s owners, crew members and Ronald McDonald. After a tour of the kitchen, the scouts were divided into groups and assigned to a station where they completed a series of steps that consisted of assembling various McDonald’s menu items such as the Fruit & Maple Oatmeal, Crispy Chicken Snackwrap, Fruit N’ Yogurt Parfait and a Side Salad with Chicken. After the scouts stopped by all stations, a ceremony was held where they each received their Simple Meals cooking badge.
“We admire the Girls Scouts for their dedication to teaching girls about leadership, adventure and success as they grow up to someday make the world a better place. We were honored to host such an impressive group of scouts and are thankful to the Girl Scouts Heart of New Jersey for allowing us to be a part of this joyous event,” said Arianna Russo. “Our aim is to continue working with the organization to ensure we reach more girl scouts across New Jersey and the Tri-State area.”
“The Simple Meals Cooking badge is a popular and fun badge for the scouts to earn. We are grateful to McDonald’s for opening their doors and ensuring that our girls have a blast while learning to make some of their favorite menu items,” said Barbara Wilson, Community Partner Specialist for The Girl Scout Hearts of New Jersey. “All the Girl Scouts completed the exercise knowing how to prepare healthful meals for themselves and loved ones.”
McDonald’s and the Girls Scouts Heart of New Jersey will work together and coordinate additional events throughout New Jersey. The goal is to help 300 scouts earn badges in different cooking categories by the end of the year.
Girl Scouts Heart of NJ 