This Old-School Snack Combo Defined Southern 'Working Man's Lunch' In The '30s

"The Tennessee bakery ended up creating a now-iconic marshmallow-filled graham cracker cookie encased in chocolate. The result was not only delicious; it was inexpensive and calorie-heavy, which was exactly what coal miners needed during their brutal 12-hour shifts. The RC part was added later, although the beverage had been around since 1905."

"Royal Crown Cola originated in a grocery store basement, where Georgia pharmacist Claud A. Hatcher created the soda as a competitor to Coca-Cola. RC Cola was firmly entrenched in the southern diet by the time the Great Depression rolled around, when the pairing took off. Both sugary snacks were sold for just 5 cents each, making this a 10-cent combo meal that most working-class folks could afford."

"MoonPies haven't made it to moon (yet), but they were part of comfort packages for soldiers abroad during World War II. By the 1950s, the combo was so popular that it became a hit country song. And it wasn't just coal miners buying it; textile workers, truck drivers, and factory laborers back then didn't have easy access to refrigeration or full lunch hours."

"MoonPies and RC Cola were easy to tuck into a lunch pail and didn't require any utensils. Healthy? No. But the combination of sugar and caffeine provided just enough boost to tide the working men over until the next break."

MoonPie and RC Cola originated as a practical, inexpensive lunchtime combo for factory employees, mill workers, and miners. A traveling salesman, Earl Mitchell, brought a request from coal miners for a snack “as big as the moon,” leading a Chattanooga bakery to create a marshmallow-filled graham cracker cookie encased in chocolate. The cookie’s high sugar and calorie content matched the needs of workers during long, brutal shifts. RC Cola was added later, though the soda existed since 1905, created by Claud A. Hatcher as a competitor to Coca-Cola. During the Great Depression, the two items sold for 5 cents each, forming a 10-cent meal. The combo also supported soldiers abroad in World War II and became widely popular by the 1950s, even inspiring a country song.

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