Some deployed soldiers are getting a little taste of home, literally, in the form of Girl Scout Cookies.

According to the Salina Girl Scout office, kind Kansans who continue to buy cookies through the Girl Scout Cookie Share Program are helping ensure Kansas soldiers deployed overseas get a sweet surprise from home.

More than 100 packages of Girl Scout cookies are now on their way to the 601st Aviation Support Battalion in Afghanistan, thanks to the $500 raised for the Cookie Share Program during a Cookie Share drive hosted Feb. 22 by the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland and the Military Affairs Council in Salina.

Through the Cookie Share Program, Kansans’ cookie purchases support not only Girl Scouts but also military members and their families, local food pantries and charities. Agencies that benefit from the Cookie Shares also include McConnell Air Force Base, the Kansas National Guard, the Kansas Food Bank and Catholic Charities.

“The Cookie Share Program provides a unique opportunity for the public to show their gratitude to past and present service members and their families who need our continual support before, during and after deployment,” said Rachel Hinde, director of communications and military affairs for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce.

Hinde is coordinating delivery of Girl Scout Cookies to the Fort Riley soldiers in Afghanistan, along with local service members and their families. She also plans to deliver Girl Scout Cookies to the families of the 601st Aviation Support Battalion at Fort Riley who are waiting for their loved ones to return home. Salina schoolchildren are writing letters of appreciation to soldiers that will be included with the cookie packages.

The Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland has distributed more than 62,300 packages of cookies through the Cookie Share Program since its inception in 2010, with more than half going to military members and their families. Last year, more than 15,700 cookie packages purchased through the Cookie Share Program were distributed by the Girl Scouts of Kansas Heartland.

The 2014 Girl Scout Cookie Sale ends March 9, so Kansans still have time to support Girl Scouts, the military and local charities through the Cookie Share Program. Cookie packages purchased through the Cookie Share Program are $3.50 per package and are tax-deductible.