Apache Junction resident Payton Robertson, 15, submitted the winning donut in the kids’ category in Bashas’ eighth-annual contest. It is filled with lemon coconut meringue, and topped with sweet, dried lemons and toasted coconut shreds.

It and two other winning donuts will be available for purchase in Bashas’ bakery cases across the state starting this Friday, June 2 (National Donut Day), according to a release.

When customers purchase a dozen donuts at Bashas’ this Friday, they will receive an additional six donuts for free. Bashas’ will also donate 10% of its donut sales on June 2 to The Salvation Army, which established National Donut Day in June 1938 to honor volunteers who served the sweet treats to soldiers on the frontlines.

The two other winners are:

• Sara Williams from the city of Maricopa submitted the winning donut in the adult category. Her PB&J donut is a glazed donut filled with strawberry and topped with peanut-butter-flavored frosting.
• Sheri Holland, a Bashas’ employee from Flagstaff, submitted the winning donut in the grocer’s internal company contest. Her banana cream pie donut is a white donut filled with banana custard and topped with buttercream and graham crackers.

In addition to being named Bashas’ Official Donut Ambassadors for 2023, the three winners will each receive one dozen donuts every month for a year from Bashas’ bakery, and $500 worth of prizes including a Bashas’ gift card and baking/cooking gadgets, the release states.

As part of its annual competition, Bashas’ invited kids and grownups across the state to dream up the best retro and futuristic flavors for the hometown grocer’s donut cases. Submissions included a medley of donuts representing the best flavors of yesteryear all the way to today’s modern flavor combinations. A panel of local celebrity judges helped Bashas’ to select the winning donut flavors.