Spreading Joy, Love, and Snacks
Uplifting Students Across Whataburger's Footprint
If there’s anything the Whataburger family loves more than food, it’s acts of service. It's inspiring to see people in the communities Whataburger serves giving back and spreading positivity — especially those committed to Feeding Student Success, a cause close to our hearts.
That’s why Whataburger is thrilled to partner with Just College Students (JCS), a nonprofit where creativity, community, and culture come together to help spread positivity to students as they pursue their dreams.
Just College Students’ goal is to spread love and uplift students, encouraging them to stick with their studies and earn their degrees. They do this by creating and distributing care packages to students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
They don’t see it as being something small. They see it as encouragement, and it stays with them for months.
One Care Package Leads to Thousands More
Houston native and JCS founder Tiffanie Jones’ inspiration came in 2014, after creating a care package for her cousin who was beginning her higher-ed journey at Blinn College. She soon expanded to making care packages for her friends’ kids, and soon began partnering with schools. In 2020, JCS made the decision to focus exclusively on HBCUs. In that time, they’ve given care packages to over 10,000 students.
The packages contain snacks, fun trinkets, school supplies, Whataburger meal vouchers, and encouraging words for the recipients. What seems like a small gesture to some can make a big impact on students who receive them.
Just College Students’ care packages also feature custom designs from artist Khia Ancalade, a Prairie A&M University graduate and business owner. Khia puts a ton of creativity into her work and represents Black culture and community with every design. See what she created for the JCS–Whataburger collab below, and pay a visit to the Whataburger Museum of Art on Instagram to see more Whataburger-inspired art from Black and Latino creators.
Proud Partners in Serving Students
Whataburger has supported Just College Students via donations since 2019. In 2024, Whataburger agreed to an annual sponsorship of $30,000, which will help pay for 1,000 care packages to be distributed across 20 HBCUs in Whataburger’s footprint each year.
In December 2024, we also invited Tiffanie Jones and a team of volunteers to our San Antonio headquarters, where the Whataburger family pitched in to help pack 400 boxes full of goods for distribution across several schools. After 75 years of serving up 24/7 goodness, Whataburger is more committed than ever to creating community connections.
Whataburger serves up Goodness 24/7 with a made-to-order, customizable menu of burgers and other favorites delivered just like you like it. Born in Texas and headquartered in San Antonio, we’re celebrating 76 flavorful years of big bites, bold flavors, and even bigger fan love. We’ve grown to over 1,100 restaurants across 17 states, with original-recipe products now found in grocery aisles across the country. Our secret sauce (besides that Fancy Ketchup) is our Family Members - real people serving up real hospitality and meaningful connections in the communities we call home. We’ve landed on Fast Company’s Brands that Matter list, USA Today’s 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards, and Newsweek’s America’s Best of the Best. To learn more, shop the Whatastore, or find your nearest location, visit Whataburger.com - or download our app on iOS or Android. Hungry for more? Discover what keeps fans coming back by diving into real stories from Whataburger super fans at stories.whataburger.com.