Grant Highlight: Kroger's Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Grants for Churches
If your congregation runs a food pantry, a community meal program, a backpack program for hungry kids, or any other outreach aimed at feeding your neighbors, Kroger's charitable giving program is worth a serious look. Funded jointly through The Kroger Co. Foundation and The Kroger Co. Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation, this program has directed hundreds of millions of dollars toward hunger relief and community building efforts across the country, and churches with active food ministries are exactly the kind of organization it was built to support.
Many churches assume that grant programs from large corporations are aimed only at big secular nonprofits, food banks, and national relief organizations. That is not the case here. Kroger explicitly welcomes applications from churches, so long as the program being funded serves the broader community rather than only the congregation's own members. If your church's pantry, community garden, meal ministry, or clothing closet is open to anyone in the neighborhood who needs it, you are the kind of applicant this program is designed for.
What the Program Supports
Kroger's giving centers on its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste plan, but the foundations also fund a few adjacent focus areas. The full list includes:
• Zero Hunger | Zero Waste (the top funding priority)
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Health and Nutrition
• Stronger Communities
For a church running a food pantry, this means your core mission likely lines up with Kroger's single highest funding priority. Programs that reduce food waste, such as gleaning surplus produce or working with grocery stores to redirect near expiration food to pantry shelves, are also viewed favorably, since they touch both the hunger relief and waste reduction sides of Kroger's mission at once.
Support is not limited to cash grants either. Depending on what your church needs and what Kroger determines is the best fit, funding can come as a monetary grant, a cash sponsorship, gift cards, or direct product donations such as food or household items. A pantry that needs shelf stable goods more than it needs cash, for example, may be offered product donations instead of a check, and it is worth being open to that possibility when you apply.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible, your church or church ministry must operate as, or through, a tax exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit in good standing, which Kroger verifies through GuideStar's Charity Check system. Many churches already have this status, and if your food pantry or outreach ministry operates under a separate nonprofit umbrella, that entity should be the one applying.
This is the part that matters most for congregations: religious organizations that serve only their own members are not eligible for funding. In other words, Kroger is not going to fund your building fund, your youth group retreat, or a program that only benefits people already on your membership rolls. But a food pantry, community meal, clothing ministry, or similar outreach that is open to the public, regardless of a person's faith or church attendance, is treated the same as any other community nonprofit program. The distinction Kroger draws is about who the program serves, not about whether the applicant is a house of worship.
A few other groups are excluded as well: individual applicants and political campaigns are not eligible for funding, in addition to religious organizations whose programs serve only their own congregation. Schools, animal shelters, and other community based nonprofits are all encouraged to apply alongside churches.
How and When to Apply
Applications are submitted through Kroger's online proposal system at thekrogerco.versaic.com, which is also referred to as communitygifts.com. You will need to create an account before submitting a request, and it is well worth reviewing Kroger's Giving Guidelines beforehand so you understand exactly what documentation and program details they expect to see.
For a church applying on behalf of a food pantry or outreach ministry, it helps to have a few things ready before you start the application: your 501(c)(3) determination letter, a clear description of who your pantry or program serves (again, emphasizing that it is open to the broader community and not limited to members), rough numbers on how many people or families you serve, and a specific description of what the grant would be used for, whether that is refrigeration equipment, food purchases, staffing support, or something else entirely.
Rather than a single annual deadline, Kroger reviews applications on a quarterly basis. For 2026, the submission deadlines are:
• April 3, 2026
• June 26, 2026
• September 18, 2026
• December 4, 2026
Once you submit an application, plan to wait up to four weeks for a response. If your church's fiscal year or budget planning runs on a set calendar, it is worth building the nearest quarterly deadline into your planning well ahead of time rather than scrambling at the last minute.
A Few Things to Keep in Mind
Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee funding. Kroger receives far more applications each cycle than it can fund, and grants are competitive, so a well documented, clearly described program will stand out. It is also worth noting that Kroger may choose to fulfill a request at a different amount, or with a different type of support (gift cards or product donations instead of cash, for instance), than what your church originally requested. Staying flexible about the form the support takes can improve your odds.
Kroger also states that neither the company nor its foundations discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity in their giving. For churches, this is a helpful reminder that the review process is focused on the program's impact and reach in the community, not on denominational affiliation or religious content.
An Alternative: Kroger Community Rewards
If your church does not want to wait for a quarterly grant cycle, or is not selected for a foundation grant this time around, Kroger also runs a Community Rewards program. This lets customers link their Kroger Shopper's Card to your organization, directing a small portion of their everyday grocery spending to your cause automatically, with no application or review process required.
This is a particularly good fit for churches, since it is easy to promote to your own congregation and to community members who already shop at Kroger. Announcing the program from the pulpit, printing a card in the bulletin, or sending a link in your church newsletter can build a modest but steady funding stream for your pantry or outreach ministry over time, and it can run alongside a formal grant application rather than instead of one.
Tips for Strengthening a Church Application
Because Kroger fields many more applications than it can fund in any given cycle, a little extra care in how you present your program can go a long way. A few things worth doing before you submit:
• Describe your reach in concrete terms. Instead of saying your pantry "helps the community," note how many households or individuals you served last month or last year, whether that number has grown, and what neighborhoods or zip codes your visitors typically come from.
• Spell out that the program is open to everyone. Since eligibility hinges on whether your outreach serves people beyond your own membership, say so directly in the application narrative.
• Be specific about what the funding will do. A request tied to a concrete need, such as a replacement refrigerator or a set number of months of shelf stable food, is easier to evaluate than a request for general support.
• Loop in your volunteers and partners. Mentioning partnerships with a regional food bank, school district, or other local nonprofits can show your program is embedded in a broader community effort.
Bottom Line
For churches doing real hunger relief work through food pantries, community meals, or similar outreach, Kroger's grant program offers a legitimate and well established funding path, and the fact that your organization is a house of worship does not disqualify you. What matters is that the specific program you are seeking funding for reaches beyond your own congregation and serves the wider community.
Because the program runs on a defined quarterly cycle, timing matters. Start by reviewing Kroger's Giving Guidelines, gather your documentation, create your account on the Versaic portal, and build in enough lead time before the next submission window closes. And in the meantime, consider setting up Community Rewards as a simple, ongoing complement to whatever you apply for through the formal grant process.
Our goal is to help you move beyond simply asking for funding and instead demonstrate exactly what the foundation's investment will accomplish.
A well-prepared application gives funders the information they need to understand your project, evaluate its impact, and make a confident funding decision.
Contact Exousia for Grant Support
📧 Email: info@exousiagroup.com
📞 Phone: 765-962-6581
🗓 Schedule a Consultation(New clients receive a FREE 30-minute consultation!)
If your organization has a specific project that could strengthen your ability to educate, serve, or care for others, now is the time to begin preparing.
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