Yes, this was Coco’s first time having a doughnut.  Lets say it was a hit and it hasn’t been the last doughnut since. I know horrible. Not really things I would like to be feeding the kids…….but sometimes they just scream our name.

They funny thing is I never ate doughnuts in America.  Maybe I was never around people that loved them.  At university we would make midnight doughnut runs to get fresh doughnut during finals at midnight.  Other then that nothing much.  When I got to Sweden people would often say  I got you some doughnuts (because I was American).  I honestly thought it a bit strange. I had never thought about the origin of doughnuts but I never really thought of it as American. Do you think its an American thing?  I know media in America portrays cops eating them, but I have never actually seen a police man eating one.

Anyways I looked it up while writing this post.  Yes it technically it is an American creation……. this settles it.

I found this little information on doughnuts and thought it was to cool not to share.

National Doughnut Day started in 1938^[1] as a fund raiser for Chicago‘s The Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor The Salvation Army “Lassies” of World War I, who served doughnuts to soldiers.

Soon after the US entrance into World War I in 1917, The Salvation Army sent a fact-finding mission to France. The mission concluded that the needs of US enlisted men could be met by canteens/social centers termed “huts” that could serve baked goods, provide writing supplies and stamps, and provide a clothes-mending service. Typically, six staff members per hut would include four female volunteers who could “mother” the boys. These huts were established by The Salvation Army in the United States near army training centers.

About 250 Salvation Army volunteers went to France. Because of the difficulties of providing freshly baked goods from huts established in abandoned buildings near to the front lines, the two Salvation Army volunteers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) came up with the idea of providing doughnuts. These are reported to have been an “instant hit”, and “soon many soldiers were visiting The Salvation Army huts”. Margaret Sheldon wrote of one busy day: “Today I made 22 pies, 300 doughnuts, 700 cups of coffee.”

Soon, the women who did this work became known by the servicemen as “Doughnut Dollies”.

from wikipedia

Pretty cool, right?  What a comfort food for the men serving.  I love history.