Little Debbie products were sold at the commissary on Yokota Air Base in Japan in 2022, the last year the cakes were stocked at commissaries. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
The U.S. military has seen its share of battlefield victories and legendary returns, but this may be the sweetest comeback yet: Little Debbie snack cakes are finally returning to commissary shelves after a four-year hiatus.
Zebra Cakes, Oatmeal Creme Pies, Swiss Rolls and other Little Debbie favorites can begin making their way back into commissary inventories starting Saturday, the Defense Commissary Agency told Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.
Brokers White Dairy and EURPAC, which service overseas and stateside commissaries respectively, were awarded an ordering agreement April 27 to help bring the snack cakes back to store shelves, commissary officials added.
The drought began in 2022 when family-owned McKee Foods Corp., maker of the beloved line of treats, could no longer meet the supply and cost demands required to keep the products stocked in base stores.
“During the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic, McKee Foods, like many companies, faced severe challenges that impacted our business,” Mike Gloekler, a spokesperson for the company, said in an email last month.
“As our business has recovered, we have increased our production capacity and resolved previous staffing issues, allowing us to once again dedicate the resources necessary to satisfy this demand,” he added.
While commissaries can begin placing orders May 16, Gloekler said the “full slate” of Little Debbie snacks is expected to return to shelves by mid-June.
In addition to longtime favorites, shoppers can expect new and limited-edition flavors, including Nutty Buddy Creme Pies, Banana Puddin’ Creme Pies, Boston Creme Pies and a limited-edition Summer of Soccer series, Gloekler said.
The 2022 disappearance of Little Debbie products from commissaries sparked a brief online panic after some readers misunderstood a Stars and Stripes report and mistakenly believed the company itself was shutting down. The situation became so dire that fact-checking website Snopes later stepped in to calm fears that Star Crunch, Honey Buns and Christmas Tree Cakes were disappearing forever.
But now, after four years without one of the commissary system’s signature treats, service members can rest easy knowing late-night barracks snack runs and deployment snack stashes are about to get a little sweeter once again.
Stars and Stripes reporter Jennifer Svan contributed to this article.
