Scholarship Endowment

California is a place of opportunity – and no industry embodies this promise more than the grocery industry.

CGA Educational Foundation has announced the creation of CGAEF Scholarship Endowment honoring their 25th anniversary of supporting the industry with financial assistance and educational opportunities. The endowment will perpetually award scholarships to grocery industry employees through an initial investment of $250,000 from our Founders Circle Members.

In honor of the CGAEF’s past and future Hall of Achievement Inductees, the CGA Educational Foundation established the Legends of the Industry Scholarship, as part of the newly established Scholarship Endowment. This scholarship is an annual $10,000 scholarship awarded to one applicant who is pursuing a career in the grocery and/or grocery-related manufacturing industries beginning in 2018, and in perpetuity.

To be eligible for this award, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a full-time or part-time employee of a CGA member company for at least two years as of April 1, 2024
  • Be enrolling as a full-time or part-time student for the 2024/25 academic year
  • Be an undergraduate or graduate student
  • Be pursuing a career in the grocery or grocery-related manufacturing industries
  • Complete two essay questions

Eligible applicants may apply for the Legends of the Industry scholarship here.


  • A woman with long dark hair and light eyes smiles at the camera. She is wearing a black top and has a small nose piercing. The background is blurred with red and dark tones.

    Jessica Jimenez

    2024

    Legends of the Industry Scholarship Recipient
    Employed by Gelson’s Markets
    Cerritos College; Business Administration

  • Rosita Szatkowska

    2023 - Albertsons

  • A woman with long brown hair and light highlights smiles at the camera. She is wearing a black top and is posed against a solid brown background.

    Jennifer Pelayo

    2022 - Smart & Final Stores

  • A man in a blue Golden State Warriors cap and white shirt smiles for a selfie on a rocky mountain with forested hills and distant peaks in the background. Sunglasses hang from his shirt collar.

    Michael Weir

    2021 - Smart & Final Stores

  • A woman with wavy, shoulder-length hair and glasses is smiling outdoors. She is wearing a white blouse with black polka dots, and there is greenery in the background.

    Carol Adams

    2020 - Vons

  • Chad Villanueva

    2019 - Save Mart Companies

  • Kimberly Lee

    2018 - Food 4 Less/Kroger

Founders Circle Members and Endowment Donors

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Since its inception, the CGAEF Scholarship Endowment has generated $340,000 in funds supporting college scholarships. It will support student success and opportunity by creating a permanent funding source for college scholarships, offering relief to the rising costs that keep many students from completing their education.

Read more here.