Donuts are nothing new. Cultures around the world have been eating fried dough for centuries. The donut itself is traced back to Dutch immigrants in 17th- and 18th- century New York. They made fried dough balls they called oile koeken or olykoeks, meaning “oil cakes,” according to the Encyclopedia Britannica entry on donuts. These oil cakes were pretty similar to what you think of as a donut today, except they were missing the now-iconic hole in the middle.
The tale behind the hole in the donut is that a young sailor named Hanson Crockett Gregory put the hole in the donut so that it would cook more evenly and not leave raw dough in the middle. Another account said he poked the doughnut onto one of the ship’s steering wheel spokes, so that he could use both hands to steer the ship through a storm without losing his confection.
Now, there are over 10 billion donuts made in the U.S. each year, according to some estimates. Massachusetts reigns supreme as the state that consumes the most donuts, likely due to the popularity and prevalence of Dunkin’ there.
So, it should be no surprise that the U.S. observes a national day for the treat. However, the history behind the day itself is quite surprising. Established in 1938, the first-ever National Donut Day was celebrated in Chicago to honor the Salvation Army’s Donut Lassies. The Donut Lassies were women who were sent to France during World War I to establish tents near the front lines where soldiers could get essential goods and bakery treats, like donuts.
To help with your celebration, we’ve compiled a list of 19 donut shops around Arkansas. We know this does not highlight every great shop in the state, but it’s a good starting point for your donut day journey…