FARMINGTON — Before starting their annual sale of tasty treats, about 100 Girl Scouts gathered for a cookie rally Saturday at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Nine troops of girls learned about the cookies, how to sell them, safety tactics they should observe and participated in a couple fun activities.

The troops, part of the Sandy River Neighborhood from all over Franklin County, Livermore Falls and Fayette, begin their annual sale of cookies Monday and are taking orders throughout the month, Cookie Supervisor Barbi Castonguay of Wilton said.

Successful sales can mean a trip to camp for the most sales. Last year nearly 3,000 boxes of Girl Scout cookies were sold here at $3.50 each, she said.

Juliette Gordon Low started the Girl Scouts in 1912 in Savannah, Ga., as a means to help young girls develop physically, mentally and spiritually. Cookie sales started a few years later when a group of girls went door to door selling homemade cookies to support their Girl Scout troop.

The cookies are no longer homemade, and four basic flavors have developed into eight, but the tradition continues. The longtime thin mints ranking second most popular across the country coming in just behind Oreos, she said.

A new cookie this year, Shout Outs, bears motivational words across the top, including believe, create, inspire, lead and build.

To accommodate the busy lives of girls today, Scout leaders across the county offer a couple meetings and a couple activities each month that help develop confidence and values, Castonguay said.

“It’s a variety of activities — everything from ice skating to rock climbing at Sugarloaf,” she said.

For Eleanor Hodgkin’s Troop 582 in Jay, activities are based on helping them to believe in themselves, Hodgkin said. Setting goals and learning to work for it to get it, she said.

The troop is currently planning a Girl Scout 100th anniversary trip in 2012 to New York City where they want to see sites such as Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building, she said.

After setting the goal and working to achieve it, Hodgkin expects they will realize the joy that comes with  achieving that goal during their five-day trip there.

This troop’s work isn’t all just for their benefit. Last year they purchased 482 boxes of cookies to send to the troops in Iraq, Hodgkin said.

As the troops traveled from one station to another learning about cookies and sales, State Trooper Randall Keaten reminded the girls to not only have fun with the project but to be safe.

He said he received some good input as the girls asked questions and answered his.

Unfortunately, there are many girls around the county who want to participate in Scouting, but there aren’t enough leaders, Castonguay said. A waiting list has been started. While mostly led by mothers, those interested in leading a troop can contact Sarah Chapman of Rome at Girl Scouts of Maine toll free at 888-922-4763.

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