Dear Hostess – I apologize

Hostess Brands, aka maker 0f Twinkies, Ho-Ho’s, Ding Dongs and Wonder “bread” (is that white stuff really bread?) announced today that the company will liquidate.  It is common knowledge that Twinkies have an almost infinite shelf live but by their announcement, the company does not.  Wow, just think – their Twinkies will live on for years after the company is long gone.

Dear Hostess,

I apologize that despite your best efforts for these past years, you have been unable to sustain your business, in part, due to my weight loss surgery.  As you know, one of  the constants in my meal planning pre-operatively were Ding Dongs and Ho-Ho’s.  Your Hostess guy that serviced the vending machine in my office building couldn’t keep up with my daily purchases.  I would be happy to buy you lunch at my favorite salad bar as a gesture of my apologies. 

Your former customer, Cathy

I would like to think that this move by Hostess is due to our population eating more healthfully and collectively our tastes are changing from Twinkies to Tangerines.  I question this due to one of the best selling culinary items at our State Fair were deep fried Twinkies.  I also hope it isn’t a strategic move based on their recent labor dispute.   Behind every closed business are the people, and for that, it is sad.  It is always sad for a business to close.  In this economy, a reasonable concern is for those thousands of employees impacted by this closing.

Obviously, this post is a LOL send-off to one of my pre-surgery sugar junkies.  It is also a PSA (Public Service Announcement) to my fellow WLS’ers that times are different as is our society that is more focused on good health than it used to be in 1930 when this confection provider was created.  Every time we purchase a food item, supply and demand kicks in.  You use your voice when it comes to the food items you buy/consume both healthy and unhealthy choices.  A few years ago, calcium citrate wasn’t as popular as it is currently.  Now, they make calcium citrate flavored (chocolate!!) chews due to the demand, to some degree by WLS’ers with a malabsorptive WLS procedure.

We use our voice vocally and also in the actions we take.  Using our voice also counts in the age-old business strategy of supply and demand.  Demand better, healthy food for you and your family, patronize local farmer’s markets along with businesses that produce healthy products.  Using your voice is always a good thing.