It’s hard to know exactly how to feel about the fact that Big Lots (the closeout retail chain) will now be host to Hostess Thrift Outlets. Now, you’ll be able to snap up Twinkies, CupCakes, Zingers, Ding Dongs, Donettes, Snoballs and other sugary Hostess products to 40% off at Big Lots locations around the country.
On the plus side, there’s no shame in celebrating the return of the Twinkie (in moderation). Hostess Thrift Outlets shuttered en masse in late 2012, to the horror of many sweet-treat fans. For most folks, there’s probably at least one Hostess item that brings back fond memories of childhood.
On the minus side, the move feels a little predatory. Yeah, here comes the Twinkie Buzz Kill.
Big Lots caters to a large demographic, but if you’ve ever spent time in one, it pretty quickly becomes apparent that much of the clientele are trying to squeeze their pennies pretty hard–not by choice but by necessity.
Offering up highly processed, nutrient deficient, sugar-laden treats at a deep discount can’t help but be attractive to families on a tight budget. Speaking here from experience as a single mama feeding two kids, practicality often dictates quantity over quality.
Call it the Ramen Noodle conundrum: Five $1 bags of freeze dried soup can feed you for a few days. Five dollars worth of organic chicken will barely be enough for one meal. If you only have $5 what do you buy?
http://youtu.be/52ulWSp3Ylc
In a perfect world, healthy snacks and organic produce would be the highly discounted items at Big Lots and Twinkies would cost an astonishing $10 each, making them a once-in-a-blue-moon treat rather than a cheap source of nourishment.
But the world isn’t perfect, and we continue to make the worst foods for our health the cheapest and easiest to stuff into our craws.
So, what’s your take? Are cheap Twinkies awesome or awful?