National Doughnnut Day: A Chicago Tradition Since 1938

By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jun 1, 2012 7:50PM

Cheesecake custard doughnut with strawberry preserves from Nightwood. (Chuck Sudo/Chicagoist)

It's fitting that Chicagoans embrace National Doughnut Day, since the "holiday" started here.

The Salvation Army held the first Doughnut Day in 1938 as a way to both help the needy during the Great Depression and honor the "Donut Lassies:" who served doughnuts to soldiers during the First World War. The Salvation Army went on a fact-finding mission to France shortly after the U.S. entered the war. What they found was that the needs of enlisted men could be met by canteens/social centers termed "huts" that could serve, among other things, baked goods. Two Salvation Army volunteers, Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance, came up with the idea of serving doughnuts because of the difficulties in baking in abandoned buildings near the front lines.

So have a doughnut today and take pride in yet another Chicago contribution to the nation's culinary fabric.