The United Way is offering grants for grocery workers through the Grocery Workers Appreciation Fund! This fund provides up to $250 for grocery workers who are having a hard time. Applications are open now and will remain open through August 2030.
In this article, we’re going to review what this program is, who is eligible for it, and what you need to do to apply.
What is the Grocery Workers Appreciation Fund?
The Grocery Store Workers Appreciation Fund provides grants to grocery workers in the United States. The grants are administered as prepaid credit cards, worth $250. These cards are intended to help you survive an unexpected or urgent need, like a car repair or dental care.
This fund is a financial assistance program sponsored by United Way. It was established in response to the pandemic, when grocery employees were designated essential workers. The United Way chose to express their appreciation by establishing a fund that could provide extra financial support to this critical workforce.
Even though most of the pandemic era programs are ending, the United Way has stated that this fund has received pledges that should keep it running through August 2030 so there’s still time to apply!
Who is eligible?
In order to be eligible for the Grocery Store Workers Appreciation Fund, you must be a current employee of a grocery store in the United States or District of Columbia. This includes major grocery stores, like Kroger and Piggly Wiggly, as well as small local grocery stores.
If you work at a retail store that has a grocery department, like Walmart and Costco, you may also be eligible. It is not immediately clear if you are eligible if you do not work in a different department of those stores, though.
How do you apply?
Applications are open now and will remain open through August 2030. However, there is only so much funding available every month. The funds may be used up before the month is over. When that happens, applications will close temporarily and reopen again on the first day of the next month.
You can apply for the Grocery Store Workers Appreciation Fund on the United Way website.
During the application process, you will be asked to provide proof of your employment and an explanation of how you intend to use the money. Your explanation must show why you need financial assistance.
What happens when you apply?
After you apply, you will need to wait about 30 days before you find out if you were approved or not. For that reason, it is not wise to rely on this grant for emergency needs like rent payments or prescription costs. If you are facing an urgent emergency, you will want to call The United Way’s 211 line for additional resources that can help you.
The United Way will contact you by email within about 30 days. The email will tell you whether or not you were approved for the Grocery Workers Appreciation Fund in the month you applied.
If you are approved, you will receive the $250 prepaid credit card code by email or text message. The code can be used anywhere that major credit cards are accepted. You will need to wait at least 365 days before you can
If it was not approved, don’t worry. You can apply again on the first of the next month. Try to apply as close to the 1st as possible so that funding doesn’t run out!
Summary
In conclusion, the Grocery Worker’s Appreciation Fund is a great help for grocery workers. The United Way started it to say thank you to grocery workers, who are so important to all of us. If you’re a grocery worker and need some help, make sure you apply right away!
Nicole Thelin
Nicole is the owner and lead researcher for Low Income Relief. She has over 20 years of professional research and writing experience, and she has been solely dedicated to investigating low income topics for the last 10 years. Nicole started Low Income Relief after a personal experience with poverty. When her husband was medically discharged from the US Army, their family experienced tremendous financial hardship. Nicole was able to gather help from multiple community agencies and move into a nearby low income housing unit in just two weeks! Since then, Nicole has been dedicated to helping low income families in crisis. She regularly spends hundreds of hours combing through countless resources to make sure that Low Income Relief has the most comprehensive and complete resource directories on the internet today. Prior to starting Low Income Relief, Nicole worked as a novelist, journalist, ghostwriter and content creator. Her work has been featured in various print and online publications, including USA Today, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more. Her work has also been featured by Google for Publishers and other leading industry publications.