What a delight
Salvation Army celebrates National Donut Day
Donuts remain a sweet treat that people have a hard time passing up.
The Salvation Army provided donuts to thousands of Bay State residents, from young children to veterans and local emergency responders, on Friday, the 85th anniversary of National Donut Day.
After getting out of school, a group of students headed to Kroc Community Center in Dorchester, where they participated in a donut-themed field day featuring all kinds of sweet, fun activities including eating-donuts-off-the-string races.
As donuts have evolved over time, to include cereal or other sweet treats as toppings, the Salvation Army has tried to go down the “healthy donut route,” said Heather MacFarlane, the agency’s director of communications for Massachusetts.
“We have tried glutenfree donuts, but there’s something about donuts that people still joke that they’re going to cheat and have a donut,” MacFarlane told the Herald. “When you ask people ‘What’s your favorite type of donut?,’ I have heard more people say ‘I haven’t had a donut in years. This tastes so good.’”
National Donut Day began in 1938 when the Salvation Army held a fundraiser in Chicago to help those in need during The Great Depression, according to officials. But the agency’s tradition of giving out donuts dates back decades before that.
In 1917, around 250 Salvation Army volunteers traveled to France to set up makeshift huts to provide soldiers with supplies and emotional and spiritual support. The group, which became known as the ‘Donut Lassies,’ fried donuts of soldiers’ helmets on the frontlines, said Karen Meehan, director of operations at the agency’s Cambridge shelter and daycare.
Meehan has worked for the Salvation Army for 33 years, and National Donut Day is one of her favorite days of the year, evidenced by her Donut Day mug.
“I think of donuts as a comfort food for us all. Kids love donuts. We love donuts,” she said. “One year we gave the recipe to our advisory board in a sack with all the ingredients for Christmas, and that was the best gift we ever gave them.”
Some people were hesitant to get a free donut the past few years during the pandemic, MacFarlane said, but that changed Friday, as giggles and smiles could be heard and seen, with thousands of people treating themselves.
“When you have that hot donut coming right out of the fryolator, ‘Wow,’” MacFarlane said.