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.
A group of around 250 Salvation Army volunteers journeyed to France. The logistics of supplying freshly baked treats from makeshift bakeries near the combat zone proved problematic, prompting two Salvation Army officers (Ensign Margaret Sheldon and Adjutant Helen Purviance) to propose an alternative solution.