Free Donuts

On sweet treats and wartime support

Happy National Donut Day! To celebrate, you can grab a free donut with the purchase of a beverage at Dunkin’ or a free donut (no purchase necessary!) at Krispy Kreme. Who doesn’t love a little sweet treat on a Friday!?

Now, you might be tempted to dismiss National Donut Day as a corporate ploy to get you to loosen your belt and open your wallet. But it’s not.

In 1917, right after the United States entered World War I, the Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France to determine how best to support the soldiers. The Salvation Army realized their normal activities — e.g., leading religious services, playing music, etc. — weren’t much help. So, they set up “huts” near army training centers that served baked goods, provided writing supplies, and helped mend clothing.

However, it was hard to get fresh baked goods to huts on the front lines, so Salvation Army volunteers Margaret Sheldon and Helen Purviance came up with an idea: Make donuts. They collected excess rations for dough, used shell casings and wine bottles as makeshift rolling pins, and filled soldier’s helmets with lard to act as fryers. Soldiers loved the donuts, and the idea spread to the Salvation Army huts all across Europe. In each hut, the volunteers — all women — would make around 2,500 donuts a day. These volunteers became known as “Donut Lassies.”

In 1938, to honor the “Lassies” and in an effort to raise funds to support those struggling during the Great Depression, the Salvation Army invented a holiday: National Donut Day. Every year since, the Salvation Army has given out free donuts to those in need on the first Friday in June.

Notes.

• USA Today’s list of Donut Day deals is here.

• For more on the Donut Lassies, see The Salvation Army and Smithsonian.