This Page Has Been Updated for 2026
The Popcorn program enables your unit to do the things you want without running many fund raisers. By selling popcorn in the fall, you can support an entire year of Scouting for your unit. This is an officially approved council supported unit money-earning project that many packs, troops and crews participate in each year.
Popcorn Kernels use this link to Register (or reregister): Register or Reregister Here
Here are some of the import 2026 dates:
- Mid-June through September – Council-wide trainings
- May 1 through December 30 – Online Popcorn Sales
- August 1 – Order #1 pick-up, Store Front & Wagon sales begin
- August 29 – Order #2 pick-up
- September 21 to 23 – Amnesty Return Days
- October 10 – Order #3 pick-up
- October 23 – Final Popcorn Returns
- November 6 – Final orders due online, Continue to submit all Prize Orders
- November 20 – Last date to submit ALL prize orders
- November 21 – Final Order pick-up, PAYMENT IN FULL is due
- December 2 – 2026 popcorn wrap-up meeting.Last day to EXCHANGE popcorn without a 40% restocking fee.
- December 5 – 2026 Top Sellers recognition event
2026 Training:
Various Dates/Times Between June 8 and September 14
- 12 Council-Wide Sessions (90 minutes).
- Sign-up is required so we can send you the Zoom link and verify your training.
- Due to the anticipated redesign of the Trail’s End Leader Portal, there will be no returning vs new leader training.
Go to https://scoutingevent.com/358-PopTrain, select the date of the training you are interested in, and complete the registration.
There are 3 ways to sell popcorn:
- Storefront Sale – A sale in front of a store or other high volume, high traffic location. The sale is entered using the Trail’s End app.
- Wagon Sale – The Scout asks friends, family and neighbors to order popcorn and enters the sale using the Trail’s End app.
- Paper Order form (sales still need to be entered using the Trail’s End app.
- Online Direct Sale – The Scout shares their popcorn online direct page with friends and family and they use the direct link or the Scout’s popcorn ID to order their popcorn.
Popcorn products are divided into 3 groups: Storefront, Wagon and Online.
Storefront Products can be ordered 3 times during the sale: July 19th, August 16th and September 27th. All products are ordered by the case. Council will have extra inventory but not large quantities. All units are encouraged to manage their own inventory. Please email if you want to pick-up council inventory to check availability.
Inventory Management
Important Dates
 | Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn Bag $20 per bag 12 bags per case 7.5 Cups | 4.5 oz | Sea Salt Bag $20 per bag 12 bags per case 12.5 Cups | 5 oz. |  |
 | White Cheddar Bag $20 per bag 12 bags per case 16.5 Cups | 6 oz | Salted Caramel Corn Bag $20 per bag 12 bags per case 5 Cups | 11 oz |  |
| Microwave Butter Popcorn $25 per box 6 boxes per case 12 microwave bags |  |
Wagon Products are ordered by November 6th for pick-up on November 21st. Chocolatey Pretzels are available in addition to the Storefront products above. Orders are by cases and individual pieces.
 | Chocolatey Pretzels Bag $30 per bag 12 bags per case 12 oz |
Heroes & Helper Donations are available anytime. Just order through the App.
 | Custom Donation Any full dollar amount starting at $5.00 |
Here is a link to the Product List.
How Many Cases of Popcorn will Fit in my Car?
Online Products are ordered directly from Trail’s End by the customer. There is an assortment of products some of which are not availble any other way. Products are priced according to a national sale, not a local sale. Products are shipped directly to the customer. The customer can assign credit for the sale to an individual Scout when they place the order.
Here is information on Scout Rewards & Incentives:
- New this year – Weekly Scout Prize Drawing
- Participation Items for any Scout who sells one thing
- Rewards for those Scouts who do not have 2,400 Trail’s End points ($600 Credit Sale)
- Trail’s End Rewards for 2,400 ($600 Credit Sale) or more Trail’s End points
- Heroes and Helpers Special Patch
- $750 & $1,500 Club
- Free Week at Camp
- Top Sellers Reward
- List of all Scout Rewards & Incentives
Here is information on Pack/Troop/Crew Rewards & Incentives:
- How much money will we earn – Commission Structure
- Special Incentives just for you:
- How much money will we earn – Commission Structure
Commission is the money earned by a pack/troop/crew or single selling Scout (Team). There is a base commission of 32% and the oportunity to earn additional commissions to raise the total to 40%.
Your commission will be subtracted from what is owed to council so you keep it.
This commission structure is for Storefront and Wagon sales only.
Online sales have a fixed commission of 30%.
- Start with 32%
- 2% for having a PPC trained kernel
- 1% for Committing and completing Onboarding by July 13
- 5% for achieving Sales Success – individual details will be emailed to the primary popcorn kernel by the end of June.
- Start with 32%
- 2% for Training
- Up to 6% for achieving Sales Success
If you are new to selling popcorn we have many resources to help you.
- Create your account in the Trail’s End Popcorn System
- Sign Up for Training
- Leader’s Guide
- Invite your Scouts to sign up using your pack/troop/crew’s communication system.
- Invite Scouts to sign up using the Trail’s End popcorn system.
- Invite Other Adults to help you
- Special Incentives just for you:
- How Much Money will you earn?
- Borrow a Popcorn Machine for your Kick-Off
- Important Dates
- Product List and Pricing
- Inventory Management
- How Many Cases of Popcorn will Fit in my Car?
For the Popcorn Kernel:
- Getting Started
- General Information
- Dates and Contacts
- Products and Prices
- Inventory Management
- How Much Popcorn will Fit in my Car
- Paper Order form (sales still need to be entered using the Trail’s End app)
- Nutrition Facts
- Commission Levels
- Popcorn Machine Rental
- Storefront Sales
- Wagon Sales
- Placing a Wagon Order
- The Popcorn Kernel will review and submit all individual orders as the final order.
- Paper Order Form – Sales still must be entered using the Trail’s End app.
- Incentives
- Here is the link to the Trail’s End Knowledge Base.
Scouts sell as part of their pack, troop or crew. They are “invited” by their Popcorn Kernel or they can go online and “sign up“.
If your pack / troop / crew isn’t selling popcorn, you can sell as an individual seller.
Once you have a Trail’s End account, just download the Trail’s End App and start selling!
Here are some helpful Selling Resources:
- Cash to Credit for Scouts & Parents
- Accepting Credit Cards & Digital Wallets
- Setting up a Blue Tooth Square Credit Card Reader
- Taking Payments with Your Phone
- Popcorn Nutritional Facts
- Paper Order form (sales still need to be entered using the Trail’s End app)
Short Trail’s End Videos for the Scout & Parent:
- The Sales Pitch
- Answers for the Excuses
- The Scout Role
- Signing Up for a Storefront
- The Parent Role
- What Selling Teaches
Here is information on Scout Rewards & Incentives:
- New this year – Weekly Prize Drawing
- Participation Items for any Scout who sell one thing
- Rewards for those Scouts who do not have 2,400 Trail’s End points ($600 Credit Sale)
- Trail’s End Rewards for 2,400 ($600 Credit Sale) or more Trail’s End points
- Heroes and Helpers Special Patch
- $750 & $1,500 Club
- Free Week at Camp
- Top Sellers Reward
- List of all Scout Rewards & Incentives
Step-by-step instructions for everything.
For the Scout & the Parent:
- Cash to Credit for Scouts & Parents
- Accepting Credit Cards & Digital Wallets
- Setting up a Blue Tooth Square Credit Card Reader
- Taking Payments with Your Phone
- Popcorn Nutritional Facts
- Paper Order form (sales still need to be entered using the Trail’s End app)
- The Scout Sales Pitch
- List of al Scout Rewards
For the Popcorn Kernel:
- Getting Started
- Onboarding and Committing Your Unit
- Trail’s End Leader’s Guide
- Invite your Scouts to sign up using your pack/troop/crew’s communication system.
- Managing your Scout Roster
- Manage Leader Accounts
- Storefront Sales
- How Do Storefront Sales Work
- How Many Popcorn Cases will fit in my in my car?
- Trail’s End Booked Storefronts – Manual and Auto Assignment
- Setting up a Storefront Location you booked
- COI Request and COI Information for stores that you booked
- Next Seps after Reserving a Storefront
- Releasing Storefront Shifts
- Adding Sales to a Storefront after it is over
- Wagon Sales
Here are links to all this year’s Popcorn Newsletters:
- May 30, 2026 – New Trail’s End Leader & Scout Portals, Onboarding, VIP Program, Important Dates
- May 12, 2026 – New Trail’s End Leader & Scout Portals, Onboarding, VIP Program, New Unit Incentitives
- April 1, 2026 – Onboarding, VIP Progran, New Unit Incentives, Important Dates
| Council Popcorn Kernel | Sage Lichtenwalner | Council Staff Advisor | Jason Dugan | 973-348-9048 | |
| Council Support | Beth Miller-Porter | 973-765-9322 x259 | |||
| Fishawack Kernel | Tim Sugrue | 973-635-0272 | Fishawack Executive | Shawn Trimmer | 973-255-6188 |
| Pioneer Kernel | Open | Pioneer Executive | Brian Day | 862-345-4892 | |
| Raritan Valley Kernel | William Jacobs | 201-240-2531 | Raritan Valley Executive | 973-900-0919 | |
| Skylands Kernel | Open | Skylands Executive | Rob Behan | 973-714-3281 |
Scout Prize Forms (most have a link to order online also):
- New this year – Weekly Scout Prize Drawing
- Participation Items for any Scout who sells one thing
- Rewards for those Scouts who do not have 2,400 Trail’s End points ($600 Credit Sale)
- Trail’s End Rewards for 2,400 ($600 Credit Sale) or more Trail’s End points
- Heroes and Helpers Special Patch
- $750 & $1,500 Club
- Free Week at Camp
- Top Sellers Reward
- List of all Scout Rewards & Incentives
Items to Help Your Sale:
- Pocorn Machine Rental
- COI Request & COI Guidelines for stores you reserve yourself
- Invite Scouts to sign up using your pack/troop/crew’s communication system.
- Managing your Scout Roster
- Manage Leader Accounts
Single Seller Form for the Scout selling without a pack/troop/crew.
Here is information on Pack/Troop/Crew Rewards & Incentives:
- How much money will we earn – Commission Structure
- New Selling Pack/Troop/Crew Incentives