FIFTH-ANNUAL DONUT-EATING CONTEST RAISES MONEY FOR VETS ABOARD USS MIDWAY

Top Competitive Eaters Converge on Former US Navy Aircraft Carrier 
for The Salvation Army's National Donut Day

LOS ANGELES, May 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The number-one-ranked female competitive eater in the world, Miki Sudo, will face off against her fiancé & number-four-ranked eater Nick Wehry, plus several other top-ranked eaters at the fifth-annual National Donut Day World Donut-Eating Championship hosted by The Salvation Army. The event, part of a fundraising challenge for much-needed veteran services in greater Los Angeles, will take place at 9:30 AM on Friday, June 2, aboard the USS Midway, located at 910 N. Harbor Dr., San Diego, CA.

Eaters will have eight minutes to consume as many BakeMark Donuts as possible. At last year's event, Miki Sudo claimed victory after eating 39 1/2 donuts in eight minutes. This year, all competitors will set out to surpass the record Joey Chestnut set in 2017 after eating an astonishing 55 donuts in eight minutes. Many have tried, but none have succeeded to-date.

Competitors include No. 1-ranked female competitive eater Miki Sudo from Port Richey, FL; No. 4-ranked Nick Wehry from Port Richey, FL; No. 23-ranked Derek Hendrickson from Las Vegas, NV, and more.

This event is part of The Salvation Army's annual tradition, National Donut Day, which began in 1938 as a fundraiser that honored the memory of The Salvation Army's volunteer "Donut Lassies," who served some of the comforts of home (donuts and coffee) to soldiers during World War I. At the time, these volunteers were the only female non-military personnel stationed on the front lines – and they prepared the donuts using hot oil, a stove, and the steel helmets made by the U.S. military.

"Major League Eating is honored to partner with the Salvation Army in supporting our veterans," said MLE emcee Sam Barclay. "MLE competitors will surely make donut day history with the historic military delicacy."

Throughout Southern California, and beyond, The Salvation Army serves veterans in need with a full spectrum of support: employment services, emergency shelters, financial assistance, and more. Major League Eating joins The Salvation Army and their partners BakeMark to raise money and awareness for programs that serve veterans on a daily basis. For more information, please visit our webpage, http://donutday.org/. The event will also be livestreamed on our Facebook page @salvationarmySD.

About The Salvation Army:
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church established in 1865, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1880 in the United States. Today, more than 30 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and underprivileged children. About 82 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in 7,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.salvationarmy-socal.org.

About Major League Eating
Major League Eating (MLE), the World governing body of all stomach-centric sports, conducts more than 80 events annually, including the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest in Coney Island, N.Y. The competitive eating community, which numbers more than 8,000 veteran and rookie athletes, travels the World in search of top titles and the glory that they provide. For more information, visit www.majorleagueeating.com, www.facebook.com/eatfast or Instagram / Twitter: @eatingcontest.

SOURCE The Salvation Army, Southern California Division