Just a friendly reminder to swing by the Queen Anne Top Pot Doughnuts today to participate in their National Doughnut Day celebrations. They’ll be prizes and festivities, and if you head over before noon, the doughnut shop will be collecting non-perishable food items for Northwest Harvest (bring all donation items to Top Pot by 12 p.m. today).

Fun doughnut-y fact: National Doughnut Day was started by the Salvation Army back in 1938 to honor women who served doughnuts to World War I soldiers.

This Friday, June 3 is National Doughnut Day (yes, it’s a real thing), started by the Salvation Army back in 1938 to honor women who served doughnuts to World War I soldiers. This year Queen Anne’s own Top Pot Doughnuts has decided to get back to the roots of National Doughnut Day and find a way to use it to give back to those in need in the community.

Top Pot has decided to spread the days’ “doughnut-y cheer” by partnering with Northwest Harvest to run a NDD food drive at all of its locations.

From 6 a.m. to noon on Friday Top Pot will be collecting non-perishable food donations for Northwest Harvest. There will also be a number of fun giveaways at the cafe throughout the day as part of the NDD celebrations.

So get ready to enjoy a good doughnut or two for National Doughnut Day, and don’t forget to bring a donation with you.

Summertime means that kids who depend on free school meals might not have access to food. Bartell Drugs is turning to the community to help “Stock the Pantry” to feed kids. The third annual food drive starts Monday at all Bartell Drugs locations, including the two in the neighborhood, at 1929 Queen Anne Ave N and 600 1st Ave N.

The two-week drive “focuses on replenishing food bank, meal program and school food stocks in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties during summer months–when families that normally depend on free or reduced-price school meals may struggle to provide healthy meals at home,” the press release states.

Food donations benefit Northwest Harvest. “In 2010, over 450,000 children (almost half of all students) across the state were eligible for free or reduced-price breakfast and lunch during the school year,” said Shelley Rotondo, executive director of Northwest Harvest. “Of those children, only nine-percent participated in a summer meal program last year due in part to transportation issues, the availability of feeding sites, and other factors. This really highlights the need for a summer food drive that benefits children.”

To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Whole Foods is hosting a 5 day party at its Interbay location.  Starting September 16, the store will host a different event for 5 consecutive days including wine, beer and food tastings.

The highlight of the party is the “Beer ‘n Burgers Bash” on Saturday (9/18) when you can sample beers from breweries around the state alongside sliders prepared by local chefs.  The event on Saturday runs from noon to 3pm with a suggested donation of $15 to benefit Northwest Harvest, which will also hold a food drive during the 5 day party.  You can purchase tickets for the Beer ‘n Burgers Bash by clicking here.

Whole Foods grand opening in Interbay from October 2009

Here’s a list of some of the other events scheduled to celebrate the anniversary:

· A tasting of Samuel Smith organic fruit beers.   Sept. 16, 5-7pm, $3.

· A wine and seafood pairing with white wine, local sake and sparkling wine.   Sept. 17, 5-7pm, $3.

· A wine tasting with local producer Theo Chocolates.   Sept. 18, 3-5pm, $3 donation.

· Mini cupcake giveaway in-store to the first 100 guests at 6pm on Sept. 20.

The 2nd annual “Stock the Pantry” food drive is underway at all Bartell Drugs locations, including both in Upper Queen Anne (1929 Queen Anne Ave N) and Uptown (600 First Ave N).

The 2-week drive, which ends on June 13, helps Northwest Harvest restock their shelves for the summer months when more families depend on the food because children are not getting free or reduced-price meals at school. Only 2 out of 5 low-income children who receive a school lunch also receive a lunch in the summer months, according to the Western Region Anti-Hunger Consortium.

Some “kid-friendly” suggestions from Bartells include tuna, instant oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, cheese crackers, applesauce and canned fruit in individual serving sizes.

Bartell’s aims to collect 25,000 pounds of food donations this year.

Inspired by the 2010 Olympics, Pagliacci Pizza is running a food drive for Northwest Harvest for the remainder of the games.

As many of the world’s finest athletes gather in Vancouver building international relations, we thought we’d focus on community relations by kicking off a food drive…While hometown athletes ski, skate and luge into the hero spotlight, this seemed like a great time for us to all be hometown heroes by donating food to local organizations.

Through Sunday, February 28, Pagliacci Pizza will be accepting non-perishable food donations at all of their locations. Ordering for delivery? You can also hand in donations to their delivery drivers right at your very own doorstep. For a list of suggested items for donation, click here.

Denali Fitness will be offering two hours of classes on Thanksgiving day this Thursday, November 26 for their 4th Annual Turkey Drive to raise money for Northwest Harvest. Last year the fitness club raised just under $5,000, and this year they hope to pass the $10,000 mark.

Denali will be offering a variety of classes at both their Interbay and Madison Park locations, and have challenged The Fitness Lab, a personal training studio in Fremont, to run a simultaneous event.

“The heat is on,” wrote Tricia Murphy Madden, Group Fitness Director at Denali, in an email last week. ” If between the three clubs we raise 10K, we will provide almost 6,200 meals to adults and children who otherwise would go without.”

Here’s the schedule for the Interbay club:

• 8:30 a.m. – cycling with Tommy
• 9:00 a.m. – Turkey Burner Boot camp Andy
• 9:30 a.m. – cycling with Don

Classes are filling up quickly, so if you would like to sign up be sure to get to it soon. Denali is asking for $20 donations, though members frequently give more. ” Last year we had a member write a check for $1000 at the end of the class because he was so moved by the experience,” Madden wrote.

Call (206) 282-7400 or email tricia@denalifitess.com for more information or to register for classes.

Denali Fitness is a sponsor of QueenAnneView.

Bartell Drugs is hosting a “Stock the Pantry” Food Drive to feed children and families this summer. The food drive runs through June 14 at all 55 Bartell locations, including the store at 1929 Queen Anne Ave N, Seattle, WA. They are collecting nonperishable food donations for Northwest Harvest and are especially looking for kid-friendly food items such as tuna, instant oatmeal, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter, cheese crackers, applesauce and canned fruit in individual servings.

The two-week food drive is especially important to help Northwest Harvest replenish food supplies during summer months when families who normally depend on free or reduced-price school meals may struggle to provide those meals at home.