The last of the Twinkies

APPLETON - Twinkies and other Hostess treats have made their way into pop culture and now that the company has announced it's closing, the people who love the sweet snacks are scrambling to buy up the last boxes.

Love it or hate it, chances are you know what a Twinkie is and now that Hostess is closing down, many are mourning the snack cake's passing.

 "They always sold consistently.  They had a following.  So they weren't the greatest selling item, but the people that like Twinkies like Twinkies,' said Paul Anderson the Store Director at Northland Festival Foods in Appleton.

He told FOX 11, however, Twinkies have now become a fantastic seller.

"This morning when I walked the store at about 6:00 we had a full shelf of Twinkies, but I think the word got out and as you can see there's Twinkie mania.  There's none left to be had," said Anderson.

So what do you do if you're a big Twinkie fan and your local store's already sold out?  Well there is one more place you can go: the world wide web.

 "I got the Chocolate Creme Twinkies and the Ding Dongs, which are my favorite...so I just threw them on eBay to see what would come of it," said Ted Johns of Neenah.

Johns is not the only one who thought to capitalize on the Twinkies' demise.  Hundreds of ads have popped up featuring many of Hostess' famous treats: cupcakes, Ding Dongs and Zingers included.

But Johns' ad is a little different: he says the money will go to charity.

"All proceeds of the auction will go to help the victims of Hurricane Sandy through Operation Blessing," said Johns.

Bids start at $19.99, but you could buy the four boxes right away for $965

Johns told FOX 11 no matter how much the four boxes bring in, he hopes a little good can come out of a bittersweet situation.

"It's an American icon.  When you say, 'twinkie,' everybody in American knows what a Twinkie is," said Johns.