National Donut Day: How to get a Free Donut, History, Significance and Celebrations

When is the National Donut Day?

Each year on the first Friday in June, people participate in National Donut Day, celebrating the doughnut and honoring the Salvation Army Lassies. The Salvation Army Lassies are the women who served doughnuts to soldiers during WWI.

In 2021, National Donut Day is on June 4.

Time & Date for National Donut Day coming years

3 June 2022

2 June 2023

7 June 2024

6 June 2025

5 June 2026

4 June 2027

2 June 2028

1 June 2029

National Doughnut Day Observances

How to get a Free Donut on National Donut Day?

On National Donut Day, Dunkin’ restaurants nationwide are offering guests a free classic donut of their choice with the purchase of any beverage, while supplies last. Classic donut favorites include Boston Kreme, Glazed, Glazed Chocolate, Jelly Filled and more. Dunkin’s special offer to ring in the holiday is good all day on National Donut Day, Friday, June 4, at participating Dunkin’ locations, while supplies last.

National Donut Day: History

At one point or another in our lives, we’ve found ourselves craving a donut. When we think about it, it’s not really a surprise that this treat hits the spot like no other. They pair exceptionally well with tasty hot beverages, they can be had as a quick snack or to accompany a long conversation. Most of all, there’s a donut out there for all of us; from traditional glaze to daring recipes such as maple-bacon donuts, reported National Day Calendar.

Photo: Salvation Army

The origins of National Donut Day are traced to The Salvation Army’s involvement in World War I. During this time, a group of volunteers was dispatched to the frontlines with the mission of providing comforting meals for the troops. They soon found out that donuts were an effective way to provide food while navigating the difficulties of cooking in very dire circumstances. These brave volunteers would later be known as “donut lassies”. They would even use war helmets as a utensil to fry up seven donuts at a time.

In 1938 “Donut Day” was established as a way to honor the members of the Salvation Army that came to the aid of soldiers during World War I. Nowadays, National Donut Day is widely celebrated on the first Friday of June. Many donut shops are known to give them our for free, giving a good reason to take some time out of the day to enjoy this most cherished treat.

National Donut Day: Celebration

Celebrate the day by enjoying your favorite doughnut. There are many varieties of doughnuts to choose from, too! Whether you prefer glazed or creme-filled, holes, or any number of deliciously made doughnuts, get out there and support your local bakeries. Pick up a dozen to deliver to first responders, a nursing station, or your favorite charity. Use #NationalDonutDay or #NationalDoughnutDay when using social media.

How to Celebrate?

• Celebrate the spirit of charity that gave rise to this holiday by volunteering for the local Salvation Army chapter or another non-profit organization that works with the armed forces.
• Visit your local doughnut store to treat yourself to some of these delicious snacks. Many doughnut stores around the world offer free doughnuts to celebrate Doughnut Day.
• Make doughnuts at home and share them with family, friends, and co-workers.

Celebrate National Donut Day with Dunkin’ All Week

This year for National Donut Day, Dunkin’ is pulling out all the stops to celebrate your love of donuts all week long. For donut fans, by donut fans, donut devotees can check out a week of donut-packed content on Dunkin’s Instagram and TikTok, all leading up to a free donut offer to celebrate the holiday.

And, tasty meets trendy at Dunkin’ for donuts’ big day. You can have your donuts, and wear them too, with the launch of the #NationalDonutDay collection, featuring limited-edition customizable donut-themed fashions including sweatshirts, t-shirts, tote bags and more. The #NationalDonutDay collection drops at 12 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 3, exclusively at shopdunkin.com.

Bizarre, Unique and Special Holidays in June

National Donut Day: Traditions

Photo: ABC Chicago

The traditions for National Donut Day are simple; eat as many donuts as you can, in as many varieties and flavors as possible. But seriously, this is exactly how the day is traditionally celebrated every year. The donut has come a long way, and is now available in so many delightful variations, how can one resist not trying them all? Whether it is jam-filled donuts, or Bavarian cream, or a good old chocolate glazed original, donuts are enjoyed and celebrated by children and adults alike all over the country, National Today cites.

Food marketing agencies love National Donut Day and donut franchises have deals on their menu as well as special donut flavors prepared just for this day. There is a lot of competition for cops at donut shops, with lines of people clamoring to get their donut fix. Donuts are also cooked at home — a great activity for the family, especially for the kids, who get to decorate their donuts with different icings and toppings.

National Doughnut Day: Freebies, deals

Participation and offers can vary by location and are only available while supplies last. To be on the safe side, check with your closest location, as cited by USA Today.

DiGiorno: The Nestle brand has a new “pizza + donut mashup” dubbed the DiGiornut and is giving it away through a Twitter sweepstakes Friday. To enter, fans can reply to @DiGiorno’s tweet with #sweepstakes for a chance to score a half-dozen box.

Duck Donuts: Get a free bare, cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar donut Friday, no purchase necessary. All locations are participating.

Dunkin': Purchase any beverage Friday and get a free classic donut of your choice, while supplies last. On Thursday at noon ET, Dunkin’ drops the #NationalDonutDay collection with limited-edition customizable donut-themed fashions at Shopdunkin.com.

Entenmann’s Donuts: Now through June 21, enter for a chance to win and give a year’s supply of donuts and other prizes to a deserving father figure by nominating them for the first “EntenMAN of the Year” Father’s Day Contest. The brand says the person can be “male or female; dad, coach, teacher or any inspiring person in their life.” Five nominees will be chosen for a chance to win the title, a year’s supply of Entenmann’s Donuts and an all-expenses-paid Daytona Race Trip package. The remaining finalists and nominators will all win free Entenmann’s Donuts for a year. Enter at EntenmanOfTheYear.com.

National Doughnut Day: Fun facts with numbers

10 billion – the number of donuts made in the U.S. each year.

10 – the number of people living in America with ‘Donut’ as their surname.

13 – the number of people who have ‘Donut’ as their first name.

2480 – the city of Boston has one donut shop for every 2,480 people.

20 – the number of donuts Renée Zellweger ate every day to gain weight for the sequel of “Bridget Jones’s Diary.”

9 – the Guinness World Record for the most powdered donuts eaten in three minutes.

201.02 million – the number of donuts consumed by Americans in 2020.

100,000 – the number of donuts churned out by Entenmann’s every hour.

3,660 – the number of donuts it will take to reach the top of the Statue of Liberty.

55 million – the number of donuts it would take to get from Long Beach, California, to Long Island, New York.

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