Here's my latest column:

Many are familiar with the well-known snack created in Appalachia that drew inspiration from the coal mining community.

Delicious. Portable. Perfect for a lunch pail.

But, wait. We’re not talking about pepperoni rolls — not today. Nope. Today, we’re discussing the MoonPie.

That’s right. The celestial snack coated in chocolate with a marshmallow center and graham cracker cookies all started with a coal miner.

“It all began in 1917 when a KY coal miner asked our traveling salesman for a snack ‘as big as the moon,’” according to the MoonPie website.

That salesman worked for the Chattanooga Bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which had already been producing over 100 items at the time.

“Earl Mitchell reported back and the bakery obliged with a tasty treat aptly named MoonPie. It was filling, fit in the lunch pail and the coal miners loved it. The rest, as they say, is history,” reads the website.

Selling for just 5 cents each, the MoonPie was affordable and tasty. It flew off the shelves, and by 1929, hundreds were produced every day.

Over the years, the MoonPie became firmly embedded in Appalachian culture — from providing a taste of home to soldiers deployed overseas during WWII to feeding a generation of Baby Boomers growing up needing a quick, affordable snack.

Today, 1 million MoonPies are produced each day and have expanded to include flavors such as banana, strawberry, pumpkin spice, blueberry, mint, salted caramel and vanilla. They also come in double-decker size and mini size.

The snack also shares a cultural tie with RC Cola. The pairing of a MoonPie and RC Cola was popularized during the mid-20th century, becoming a working-class lunch special throughout the South and Appalachia. For many, this combination represented an affordable luxury—two classic items that offered a taste of indulgence.

MoonPie’s accessibility made it popular during economic hard times, particularly in rural areas where homemade sweets were often a luxury. Today, Moon Pies are still a common sight at gas stations, country stores, and festivals across Appalachia.

The snack has remained a staple of Southern comfort food, symbolizing simplicity and nostalgia for generations in the region and beyond.