Weird Island

16. MINI EPISODE: Most Donut Shops Per Capita

Episode Summary

A mini episode this week - Providence has the unique distinction of being the metro area with the most donut shops per capita.

Episode Notes

Episode Source Material: 

• Best Places - Donut Data Set
• Home / Rankings / Top Donut Cities
• A Dozen Things You Didn't Know About Dunkin' | Dunkin'
• The Salvation Army USA Blog - The Salvation Army Celebrates National Donut Day!
• National Donut Day
• Doughnut Girls: The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of World War I - World War I Centennial.
• Donut Day History - The Salvation Army Metropolitan Division
• The Women Who Fried Donuts and Dodged Bombs on the Front Lines of WWI

Episode Transcription

• Hi! I’m Sara, and you’re listening to Weird Island. This Friday is National Donut Day - well, actually, one of two National Donut Days that the US observes, for some reason. And I’m coming at you with a quick mini episode you can listen to while waiting in line to buy your donuts--at least, I hope you’re through the line by the time it’s done!
• But what do donuts have to do with Rhode Island? Well, Providence has a unique donut distinction. In 2019, website Best Places did a study of the number of donut shops in the top 100 Largest Metro Areas in terms of population, and it found that the Providence-Warwick metro area was #1 in the country for Most donut shops per capita, with 23.25 donut shops for every 100K people. So you could say Rhode Islanders really love their donuts. 
• And just below Providence? There’s Worcester, Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport, Springfield, MA, Scranton, PA - Dallas, Albany. Seeing any trends? Yeah, 7 of the top ten metro areas are in New England.
• And you might be thinking of your favorite boutique donut shop right now. I’m all about PVDonuts, myself--and if you haven’t gone, I highly recommend going to get one of their Old Fashioned donuts for National Donut Day this Friday. 
• But, really it’s not the specialty shops that are driving those numbers up to high--it’s good old Dunkin, which really shouldn’t come as a surprise, given that if you’re a Rhode Islander, you can probably remember a few times you’ve given directions based on local Dunkin locations. It sounds a little like this, “So, you’ll drive until you hit the Dunkin on the corner, then turn right. A half mile down, take the next left--at the Dunkin. And then follow that street up the hill and you’ll hit the Dunkin Donut center.” Yes, the Providence Civic Center is called the Dunkin Donuts center. 
• It makes sense that we have a ton of Dunkins, considering the company was founded in nearby Quincy, MA in 1950 and is currently headquartered in Canton, MA - only about a 40 minute drive from Providence. According to the company’s site, there are more than 12,500 Dunkin’s worldwide in more than 46 countries -- and 9K of those are in the US. And apparently the very first shop is still standing in Quincy today, and has been restored to its 1950s retro look and feel -- if you’re enough of a die-hard Dunks fan, you could take a drive up to Quincy to check it out. 
• But, I’m not here to tell you the history of Dunkin Donuts or even Rhode Island’s very own donut shops like Allie’s or PVDonuts or Sip n Dip--It’s actually the history of National Donut Day itself that caught my attention. I assumed most of these “National-Whatever” days were all about selling something, but National Donut day actually has kind of a unique history. It was started in 1938--not by a donut company, but by the Salvation Army. The first National Donut day was celebrated in Chicago as a way to raise funds to help those most in need during the Great Depression. 
• But why donuts? Well, in 1917, the Salvation army sent roughly 250 volunteers overseas to provide support to American soldiers stationed on the frontlines of WWI. These volunteers set up small huts, sometimes right near the frontlines, where they would provide food and clothing and other supplies to soldiers. One day, two women--Helen Purviance and Margaret Sheldon, who were stationed near the frontlines in France, decided to treat the soldiers to a bit of home cooking to lift their spirits. But leftover rations were limited, so they had to get a little creative. They threw together some donut dough--using just flour, sugar, lard, baking powder, eggs, salt, and canned milk according to the Salvation Army’s site. They reached for wine bottles and shell casings as makeshift rolling pins. And then fried them up in soldier’s helmets. The smell instantly captured the soldiers’ attention, and they lined up to get donuts--fried up 7 at a time. The donuts boosted morale, and became an instant hit. And so did the girls. They became known as the doughnut lassies of WWI. And their morale-boosting efforts were so successful, some historians even suggest that donuts gained popularity in the US after soldiers returned home from the war with a taste for the treat. The Salvation Army continued the tradition of providing care and comfort and donuts through WWII. 
• The donut became a symbol of all the Salvation Army was doing to ease the hardships of men fighting in the war. And when National Donut Day began in 1938, it honored the Doughnut Lassies, while also raising funds to help those in need. 
• This year, the Salvation Army’s site says it will be celebrating the work of the original Donut Lassies by “delivering donuts to healthcare workers and first responders across the country who’ve stepped up to protect others during the Covid-19 pandemic.” A different kind of battle on a different frontline. 
• So, it turns out this day isn’t just about eating donuts. But, coming off Memorial Day weekend, you can still enjoy your treat this Friday--and maybe even spend some time thinking about those the day was intended to honor, both veterans and volunteers and all of the people who are doing good things for others every day. 
• Thanks for listening! I’ll be back next week with a full-length episode. I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has listened. I really appreciate you all! See you next week, as we dig up more stories about all things weird and wonderful in the tiny state of Rhode Island.