Hostess Strike Leaves School Children Without Bread

WKRN-TV reported: Several hundred workers statewide are out of a job following the wind down of Hostess Brands on Friday.

The company most well known for snack cakes like Twinkies, Ho-Hos and Ding Dongs officially closed all bakeries, distribution centers and bakery outlets on Friday. The biggest impact was in east and west Tennessee. An estimated 300 workers lost their jobs at bakeries in Knoxville and Memphis.

For workers at the distribution center on Charlotte Avenue in Nashville, the news hit hard.

“You never think a big business like this is going to go down,” said delivery driver Jon Rayburn. “You’re like, ‘Well, they’ve been around forever. They’ll be around forever.’”

…At Metro Nashville Public Schools nutrition services officials are working to find another bread vendor. Hostess supplied loaves of bread, buns and other bread products to schools.

“We were notified earlier this afternoon that the bakery was no longer going to be in service as of 5 p.m. today,” Director of Nutrition Services Spencer Taylor said. “What my staff and I have been doing is putting out feelers to other regional providers in the area.”

Bread and grains are a federally required part of the 55,000 meals Metro Nashville Schools serve in its schools. 17 Nov 2012 post a comment