Celebrate National Donut Day In Mendonoma and Beyond

How will you celebrate National Donut Day this Friday? 

Held annually on the first Friday of June, Doughnut Day (now known as Donut Day) was established by The Salvation Army in 1938.

This year the 79th Annual National Donut Day arrives on June 3 and will not only be celebrated nationally, but also across the globe.

However, you’ll find that in Mendonoma you may need to celebrate National Donut Day with a little bit of ingenuity.

History of National Donut Day

This very “Holey” Day got its start as a fundraiser by The Salvation Army in Chicago during the Great Depression. Today as we celebrate National Donut Day, we must also recall it honors our military veterans and commemorates the work of  The Salvation Army volunteers who used the tasty confection to comfort American soldiers in France and Germany during World War I.

As America entered World War I in 1917, The Salvation Army established a mission to provide for the needs of U.S. soldiers fighting in France.  Heeding a request from the troops to “bring over some Lassies,”  National Commander Evangeline Booth, working with Lt. Colonel William Barker, to gather a total of eleven Army volunteers to France and Germany during World War I, including four single women.

Later more young missionary women for The Salvation Army traveled overseas to set up service “huts” located in abandoned buildings near the front lines. Here they served baked goods, provided writing supplies and stamps and offered a clothes mending service to the soldiers in battle.

They soon became known “Doughnut Lassies” and “Doughtnut Girls. Their warm hearts and glowing smiles coupled with sweet freshly made treats brought a bit of cheery to the American soldiers who were serving their country. 

Salvation Army Donut Recipe

To celebrate National Donut Day you may want to try your hand at making your own “Salvation Army Doughnuts.”

On February 23, 1919 The Washington Times printed  a collection of original Salvation Doughnut recipes. Click here to view a larger copy of  the recipes.

Original Salvation Army Doughnut Recipe

Wartime Adaptations to Donut Recipe

But the Doughnut Girls’ mission of serving up freshly baked goods to the troops was not without its challenges. This was especially so given the challenges to baking and frying in the military “huts.”

At times the girls had to be creative when it came to finding items to cut out doughnut circles. Salvation Army Doughnut Girls used whatever they could find, from baking powder cans to coffee percolator tubes.

Frying the luscious rings of dough is best done in a deep frier. However, during wartime, deep friers were also a challenge to find.

Not to be stopped, two entrepreneurial Salvation Army volunteers named Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance overcame those challenges by cleverly frying donuts in soldiers’s helmets!

When trying this adaptation at home with your great grandpa’s WWI helmet remember to make only seven doughnuts per batch.

Celebrate National Donut Day with Free Donuts

For those of you who prefer to leave the frying to the pros on National Donut Day, I’ve gathered a few locations where you’ll be able to find modern as well as traditional interpretations of the delectable doughnut.

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme USA and Canadian locations will offer a FREE donut of any variety–including its world famous Original Glazed® donut.  No purchase necessary. (Excludes Connecticut.)

Celebrate National Donut Day Across The Globe

Krispy Kreme will also offer free donuts at these international locations:

• Australia, Bahrain, India North, KSA, Kuwait, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Turkey and UAE will offer a free doughnut of every variety on June 3.
• Japan and Korea will be offering samples of Original Glazed® doughnuts in stores to celebrate the day.
• Krispy Kreme fans in the Philippines will receive a free Original Glazed® with a coffee purchase, and Krispy Kreme Malaysia would like to share a free Original Glazed® with fans who like their Facebook page before June 3, 2016.

 Shipley Do-Nuts:

Visit a participating location from 5 a.m. to noon on National Donut Day for a free donut.

Entenmann’s: A total of more than 150,000 donuts will be given away in more than a dozen cities around the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Louisville, New Haven, New York City, and San Diego, plus Entenmann’s is hosting a sweepstakes on Facebook with 10 lucky winners getting free donuts for a year.

Randy’s Donuts: Customers get free donut holes at this famous Los Angeles donut shop from 6 a.m. to noon on National Donut Day.

Shown: Randy’s Donuts Los Angeles | by felmo1

Lamar’s Donuts: Follow this Facebook link to get a “golden ticket” for a free donut on Friday, plus a free 16-ounce Lamar’s cup with any purchase.

Duck Donuts: Go to the Facebook page of Duck Donuts—a chain with dozens of East Coast locations stretching from the Jersey Shore to North Carolina—for a coupon valid for a free sugar donut on National Donut Day.

Dunkin Donuts: Get one free donut with the purchase of any beverage.

Cumberland Farms: Purchase any coffee or fountain drink between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday and take your pick of a free donut.

Honey Dew Donuts: Purchase any medium-size beverage and you’ll get a free (Up)Beat Cancer Donut, which is chocolate frosted, has blue and red sprinkles, and was created to raise cancer awareness.

Giant Eagle: Every Friday, including National Donut Day this Friday, Giant Eagle supermarket locations offer a half-dozen donuts for free when you purchase a half-dozen.

Fractured Prune: Not all of this Ocean City, Maryland-based donut chain’s locations are participating in National Donut Day, but most shops in Arizona are giving away free donuts (with drink purchase), and locations such as Owings Mills in Maryland are offering free OC Sand donuts (glazed, covered in cinnamon sugar) with no purchase required.

Tim Hortons: No freebies this year, but Tim Hortons is offering aNational Donut Day coupon good for a half-dozen donuts at the special price of $2.99, valid through July 3.

Celebrate National Donut Day in Mendonoma

One of the first things you notice about the Sonoma and Mendocino Coastal Communities that we affectionately call Mendonoma  is the lack of fast food chain locations.

So unfortunately you will not be able to “cash” in on the freebie doughnuts here.

To do that you’ll need to make a pit stop in the big cities along the way to celebrate National Donut Day with a free confectioner’s treat.

What we do have in Mendonoma though are local bakeries with incredible creations that are uniquely made and so worth every penny.

Franny’s Cup and Saucer

Each Friday Franny’s Cup and Saucer creates a unique doughnut to the surprise and delight of all of Mendonoma.

And this Friday is no different.

This Friday’s flavor to celebrate National Doughnut Day (June 3) is Peaches ‘n Cream: A Peach Cream Pie Donut, filled with vanilla bean custard and topped with sweet peach compote and oat and macadamia nut crumble.

Now THAT’S the way to celebrate National Doughnut Day!

Two Fish Baking Company

While Sea Ranch’s own TwoFish Bakery does not make donuts it does make wonderful pastries, pies, scones and cookies.

It also makes pizza!

Every Friday night.

So why not celebrate National Doughnut Day with a TwoFish Pizza!

All you have to do is eat a hole in the middle and call it a donut!

Tell us how you celebrate National Doughnut Day.

Show us your photos below or Instagram us @SeaRanchAbaloneBay  #NationalDoughnutDay

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Why not try your hand at making  fresh Salvation Army Donuts at

Sea Ranch Abalone Bay?

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