🍩 Live countdown
National Donut Day2028 Countdown
Friday, June 2, 2028
Date shown in UTC · Your timezone: —
About National Donut Day
National Donut Day lands on the first Friday of June each year, a moveable sweet spot that has satisfied Americans with fried dough since the 1930s. It honors the doughnut itself, glazed, frosted, jelly-filled, or cruller, and carries a surprisingly earnest backstory rooted in wartime volunteer service rather than bakery marketing.
The day was launched in 1938 by The Salvation Army in Chicago as a fundraiser and a tribute to the Donut Lassies of the First World War. These volunteers served fresh doughnuts to soldiers on the front lines in France, and the treat became a symbol of home and comfort for troops far from their families. The fried ring, in other words, earned its holiday through service.
Today, bakery chains and grocery stores hand out free or discounted doughnuts, and some pair the giveaway with donations to veteran causes, keeping the original mission in view. Home bakers attempt their own versions, offices organize communal boxes, and social media becomes a glaze-colored gallery. A century on, the humble doughnut still does what it did in 1918: bring people together.
History of National Donut Day
National Donut Day was established in 1938 by The Salvation Army, which chose the occasion to raise funds during the Great Depression and to honor the women who had served doughnuts to American soldiers during the First World War. Those volunteers, later nicknamed Donut Lassies, set up huts near the trenches in France and fried dough in primitive conditions, offering soldiers a taste of normal life amid hardship.
The tradition stuck. When American forces returned, the doughnut carried emotional weight, and the Salvation Army built its 1938 observance on that memory. The day has been celebrated on the first Friday of June ever since, with the veterans connection still acknowledged by many bakeries. Few modern food holidays can claim a history this genuine, and none can claim military history at all.
2028 vs 2029 dates
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is National Donut Day?
- It is celebrated on the first Friday of June each year, so the date shifts but the weekend proximity is guaranteed.
- Is National Donut Day a public holiday?
- No, it is an unofficial observance, though free doughnuts have been known to improve workplace morale significantly.
- How do people celebrate National Donut Day?
- Bakeries and chains give away or discount doughnuts, offices share boxes, and many giveaways also raise money for veterans' causes.
- Why does it relate to the military?
- The day honors Salvation Army volunteers who served doughnuts to soldiers in First World War France, a comfort that became a symbol.