No Government Twinkie Bailout!

Now that I have your attention, with the initiatives that our government makes, this wouldn’t surprise me. The iconic Twinkie, a golden sponge cake snack filled with indescribable crème (of course you know what it is), may disappear from our lives in the near future. At 150 calories per Twinkie and approximately 40 ingredients (some I can’t even pronounce), this may not be such a bad thing. We Americans lead the world in obesity. Need a say more? Yes I do need to say more. I LOVE Twinkies! 

Invented by a Continental Baking Company plant manager in 1930 (the start of the “Great Depression”), James Dewar was concerned that several processing machines that were used for their Little Short Cake Fingers (filled with fresh strawberries) sat idle way too long. You see, these machines were only used during strawberry season, about a six week time span. After much thought, Dewar figured that if he could come up with a different type of filling, the shortcake machines could be used year round. A banana crème filling was created and injected into the shortcakes. The iconic snack was born. 

While Dewar and a friend were driving by a billboard for Twinkle Toes Shoes, his friend suggested he name the new snack Twinkle Fingers. Shortened to Twinkies, the name stuck. During World War II the crème was recreated as a vanilla filling due to a banana shortage. 

Back to the government bailout. Hostess, the owner of the Twinkie brand, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently (for the second time). The company blames rapid acquisitions of bakeries, high debt, and labor costs for their financial situation. Being in the food industry, I think I know the real reason. Most of the ingredients used to make Twinkies have risen in cost by 18% this past year. Not too bad considering our economy. However, what I think really caused their demise is the cost increase of their “Top-Secret No One Knows The Name Of It But It Gets Me Addicted To Twinkies” Chemical ingredient. If this chemical falls in the same category as high level chemicals, it has experienced a 450% increase in cost in 2011. This would have definitely forced the company in dire straights. Only Twinkie The Kid really knows. Hey Washington! Before you go Bailout the Twinkie, think about us 99%’ers. Did you hear that Washington!