Whataburger has given 940 scholarships worth over $2 million to students across its 14-state footprint for the 2022-2023 academic year through the company’s two scholarship programs—the Whataburger Feeding Student Success Scholarship and the Whataburger Family Foundation Scholarship.

The Whataburger Feeding Student Success Scholarship was launched in December 2021 and is open to students pursuing higher education. The fund is part of Whataburger Feeding Student Success, the company’s signature community program serving at the intersection of education and food insecurity.

“No student should ever have to worry about where their next meal will come from or question their ability to succeed,” said Whataburger Community Experience Manager Melba Harris. “Our mission through Whataburger Feeding Student Success is to enable students to focus on their education by eliminating some of the hurdles they may face along the way. Our community’s students are resilient and it’s our privilege to be a part of their stories as they walk down their paths to bright futures.”

120 one-time Feeding Student Success scholarships for $5,000 were awarded to students across Whataburger’s 14-state geography.

The first year’s scholarships were awarded to Black and other racial minority students as part of a $500,000 scholarship commitment Whataburger made in June 2020. To further support that commitment, Dr Pepper contributed an additional $100,000 to the Whataburger Feeding Student Success Scholarship program. A total of $600,000 in scholarship funding was awarded.

In addition to the investment from the Whataburger Feeding Student Success Scholarship fund, the Whataburger Family Foundation awarded $806,000 in scholarship funding to Whataburger employees and their dependents for the spring 2022 semester and another $738,000 for the fall 2022 semester. 

The Whataburger Family Foundation was created to provide emergency assistance to Whataburger employees experiencing immediate unforeseen hardships. Through the foundation, Whataburger has awarded more than 4,000 Whataburger employees with more than $9.6 million in education assistance since its launch in 2003.

Both scholarships can be used by students for tuition, fees, books, supplies, housing and applied at any college, university or not-for-profit vocational school.

Applications will reopen in December for the Whataburger Feeding Student Success Scholarship.