My wife and I love those mouthwatering, “original glazed” Krispy Kreme doughnuts, especially when still warm, just rolling off the “assembly line,” which we can watch through a glass window at our Krispy Kreme store.
When we lived relatively close to one it would become a ritual to stop by about once a week and pick up half-a-dozen or so of those delectable beauties.
Yes, we know (and knew) that each one of those delicacies has about 190 calories and we are (and were) aware of all those other “nutritional facts.”
Today, we live about a half hour’s drive away from the nearest store and – especially with COVID – have not indulged in them for over a year.
A couple of days ago, I had an early morning appointment a couple of minutes from our favorite Krispy Kreme store.
The temptation to devour one of those delicacies once again, along with a piping-hot cup of coffee, was unsurmountable.
I was also aware of the recent Krispy Kreme offer to give a free glazed doughnut anytime, any day, even every day, through the remainder of 2021 to anyone who shows to have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Succumbing to the temptation and to my curiosity about how this incentive is working out, I drove to Krispy Kreme.
At “our” store, I showed my vaccination card and asked for the free doughnut. Promptly, the friendly attendant retrieved one from the assembly line and gave it to me with a thank you for getting vaccinated.
Since I must have a cup of coffee with my doughnut, since I did not want to appear to be a “freeloader,” and since my wife would immediately know from my smile that I had “indulged,” I ordered and paid for a cup of coffee for myself and for a second doughnut to take home.
While enjoying my coffee and doughnut, I did an unscientific survey of one store, one attendant, one freeloader (yours truly), one doughnut…
These are the results:
• On an average, approximately 30 to 40 vaccinees come in each day to claim their reward.
• There are few daily “repeat” customers for that free doughnut.
• Many vaccinees buy coffee and/or additional doughnuts.
• The doughnut was delicious.
• Business has increased.
As with any unusual incentive, there has been plenty of criticism of Krispy Kreme’s ways to – as Krispy Kreme puts it – “be sweet as the U.S. continues to scale COVID-19 vaccinations.”
Some medical and nutritional experts are concerned about the health impact one doughnut every day could have on a person’s weight and health. Former Baltimore health commissioner Lea Wen warns that a person taking full advantage of Krispy Kreme’s offer, without making other lifestyle changes, could gain 15 pounds by the end of the freeloading year.
Others – including the CDC — point out that obesity is a growing problem for Americans and “increases the risk of severe illness from COVID-19.”
The Washington Post also notes that the CDC findings “have been widely debated, and another recent study found that a high body mass index was not associated with different outcomes for covid-19 patients on ventilators.”
According to the New York Times, behavioral motivation experts say that “offering incentives is not necessarily the most effective or cost-efficient way to increase vaccine uptake.”
In defense of Krispy Kreme, dieticians and others who denounce Americans’ attitude toward overweight people link the criticism to body-shaming and weight discrimination.
Nutrition therapist Elyse Resch calls it, “Weight stigma, fat-shaming, fatphobia…oppressive, like every other oppression in the world.” She adds, “It’s so wrong. We all deserve to have satisfaction in our eating, and having a doughnut is a delicious thing.”
And how does Krispy Kreme respond to the criticism of its “sweet support”?
In a recent statement to the Washington Post, the company says:
Like many sweet treats, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are an occasional indulgence best enjoyed in moderation…And we know that’s how most of our guests enjoy our doughnuts. We’re certainly not asking people to get a free Original Glazed doughnut every day, we’re just making it available through the end of the year — especially given that not every group is eligible to get vaccinated yet — to show support to those doing their part to make the country safe by getting vaccinated as soon as the vaccine is available to them.
Krispy Kreme, a company founded in 1937 and today boasting more than 1,400 stores in the U.S. and in more than 30 other countries, has raised millions of dollars in needed funds for non-profit organizations and is now supporting the fight against COVID in many other ways, including offering its team members up to four hours of paid time off each to help encourage and enable their COVID-19 vaccinations, providing free doughnuts to healthcare facilities and vaccination centers, and offering two new free “sweet deals” to get people through these tough times — no vaccination strings attached.
What are my views?
Perhaps they are best expressed by cardiologist Dr. Eric Topol, who says:
Doughnuts aren’t really healthy, obviously…But we have a bigger issue, which is that we don’t want people getting covid, and we want to get out of this pandemic. Anything that helps people take vaccines when they’re reluctant is a good thing. So some extra doughnuts during the course of the year? I think it’s worth it, and I’m a cardiologist.
Your views?
The author is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and a writer.