Key Points
- Major food brands sponsor scholarships that can award up to $100,000.
- Other grocery store and food chains also offer scholarships to their employees.
Your next college scholarship might be hiding next to the peanut butter. From your favorite beverages to the store you shop at every week, brands like Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, Frito-Lay, and even Wegmans are offering real money to help students pay for college. Some awards are open to anyone. Others are just for employees or their families.
Either way, if you’re filling a shopping cart, you could be a few steps away from funding your next semester.
We’re talking $25,000 awards from Frito-Lay, full tuition coverage from Walmart and Amazon, and more than $100,000 for students connected to the Hershey School.
Whether you're bagging groceries or browsing the cereal aisle, you could be one step closer to discovering financial support for your education.
Related: Best Scholarship Search Websites
Scholarships From Major Beverage Companies
There are several scholarships sponsored by popular beverages.
Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation. Coca-Cola awards $20,000 scholarships to 150 high school seniors each year. These students are selected from more than 100,000 applicants based on leadership and community service, as well as academic excellence.
Dr Pepper Tuition Giveaway. Dr. Pepper awards up to four $100,000 tuition scholarships. There are also four $20,000 runner-up scholarships and four $2,500 consolation prizes. Students age 18 to 24 enter by submitting a 60-second video describing how winning the scholarship will change their lives.
PepsiCo Foundation Family Scholars. PepsiCo awards up to 400 renewable $5,000 college scholarships for dependent children of PepsiCo employees. The students must be age 24 and under. High school seniors and current college students are eligible. The student must be pursuing their first undergraduate degree.
PepsiCo Foundation S.M.I.L.E. (Success Matters in Life & Education) Scholarship. PepsiCo awards up to 30 scholarships of $20,000 each to students at 10 participating community colleges, to help them transition to a four-year college or university. The scholarships are renewable for a second year.
Scholarships From Major Products Sold In Grocery Stores
Other popular products found in grocery stores also sponsor scholarships:
American Association of Candy Technologists (AACT) John Kitt Memorial Scholarship awards $2,500 to college sophomores, juniors and seniors majoring in the food, chemical or biological sciences. Applicants must have an interest in confectionery technology and a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
Dole Food Company awards scholarships through essay competitions about nutrition, sustainability and community health. The competition opens in October of each year.
Frito-Lay’s Community Builder Scholarship awards four $25,000 scholarships annually to students who have made a difference in their community. The students must maintain at least a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Milton Hershey School provides a free education for orphans and low-income students. The Milton Hershey School is funded by the Hershey Chocolate Company. Graduates can qualify for a Continuing Education Scholarship (CES) worth up to $115,000.
Nestlé R&D Scholarship Program awards renewable scholarships worth up to $4,000 for dependent children of employees. The student must maintain a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Nestlé USA College Scholarship Foundation awards $4,700 renewable scholarships to children of employees. Eligible students include high school seniors and current college students. The student must maintain a 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Procter & Gamble (P&G) STEM Bold Leaders Scholarship awards twenty $10,000 scholarships to diverse students in STEM-focused fields. Scholarship recipients also benefit from a 10–12-week P&G STEM internship. Applicants must be currently enrolled in a STEM degree program and have strong communication and technical skills.
Franklin P. and Arthur W. Perdue Foundation awards fifteen non-renewable $5,000 scholarships to children of Perdue employees and independent farm family partners.
Sour Patch Kids Mischief for Change Scholarship awards 10 scholarships worth up to $16,400 for undergraduate students at HBCUs. Applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. The scholarship is sponsored by Mondelez International, Inc. and managed by the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF).
Tylenol Future Care Scholarship awards ten $10,000 and twenty-five $5,000 non-renewable scholarships to students who are enrolled in medical, pharmacy or nursing school. Applicants must be college seniors or graduate students.
Tyson Foods provides free tuition, fees and books for Tyson’s employees through Guild’s Upward Academy program. Guild offers selected Certificate, Associate degree, Bachelor’s degree and Master’s degree programs.
Scholarships Awarded By Grocery And Department Stores
Not only are scholarships sponsored by many of the products sold in grocery stores, but also by the grocery stores themselves.
Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship awards 400 scholarships worth $40,000 and paid Amazon internships to high school seniors planning on majoring in computer science.
Associated Grocers GMRA Scholarship Fund awards renewable scholarships worth up to $4,000 per year to employees ($1,000 during the first year and $4,000 during subsequent years). Scholarship recipients must remain employed by any Associated Grocers store.
California Grocers Association (CGA) Educational Foundation Legacy Scholarships awards 350-400 non-renewable scholarships worth $1,000 to $10,000 to employees of a CGA member company.
CVS Health Foundation Scholarship awards up to $5,000 in college scholarships to 500 children of employees. CVS Health Foundation also supports 83 students pursuing careers in pharmacy, nursing and retail management with scholarships of $10,000 or more.
Kroger Always Game Changers Scholarship provides 23 scholarships of $2,000, one per Kroger division, to students pursuing a business, science, technical and/or liberal arts undergraduate degree or certificate. Applicants must be first-generation college students who are committed to supporting and uplifting women in their academic, professional or community endeavors.
Kroger Scholars Program provides 120 scholarships worth $2,500 to children of employees. Applicants must be a high school senior or currently in college, and must be age 25 or younger.
National Grocers Association (NGA) Foundation Scholarships of up to $3,000 to undergraduate and graduate students majoring in Business, Food Management, Accounting, Human Resources, IT or other fields leading to a career in grocery. Applicants should have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.
National Supermarket Association Scholarship Foundation awards scholarships of up to $5,000 to high school seniors or current undergraduate and graduate students. Applicants must live in the NSA New England Service Area. To qualify for an NSA Award of $1,000, the applicant must have a minimum GPA of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale. To qualify for a Meritorious Award of $5,000, the applicant must be pursuing a bachelor’s or master’s degree related to entrepreneurship or business growth and have a minimum GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale.
Our Family Foods awards fifteen $5,000 scholarships.
Walmart Foundation. Walmart awards the First-Generation Scholarship of $6,200 for students attending HBCUs through the Thurgood Marshall College Fund (TMCF). Walmart also provides employees with free tuition for undergraduate degrees through Live Better U.
Wegmans Scholarship Program awards renewable scholarships of up to $4,000 per year to full-time employees and $2,000 per year to part-time employees. About 5,000 Wegmans employees currently receive the scholarships.
Final Thoughts
There are scholarship and financial aid dollars to be found all around you! Most major companies and consumer brands love to support local communities and help families get higher education.
As you search for scholarships to pay for college, don't skip the brands in your local grocery or department store.
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Editor: Robert Farrington
Mark Kantrowitz is an expert on student financial aid, scholarships, 529 plans, and student loans. He has been quoted in more than 10,000 newspaper and magazine articles about college admissions and financial aid. Mark has written for the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Reuters, USA Today, MarketWatch, Money Magazine, Forbes, Newsweek, and Time. You can find his work on Student Aid Policy here.
Mark is the author of five bestselling books about scholarships and financial aid and holds seven patents. Mark serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Student Financial Aid, the editorial advisory board of Bottom Line/Personal, and is a member of the board of trustees of the Center for Excellence in Education. He previously served as a member of the board of directors of the National Scholarship Providers Association. Mark has two Bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and philosophy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree in computer science from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU).