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How Wegmans Is Encouraging the Next Generation of Grocery Workers

Grocer shares details on its Wegmans Work Scholarship Program for high schoolers
Emily Crowe, Progressive Grocer
Wegmans Yardley, Pa.
All 130 participants in this year's Wegmans Work Scholarship Program will graduate from high school this month.

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is putting an emphasis on mentorship as it works to increase graduation rates in its hometown of Rochester, N.Y., and introduce high school students to its work opportunities through the Wegmans Work Scholarship Program. This year, all 130 high school seniors participating in the program are set to graduate, marking a 100% graduation rate for the school year.

Created in 1987, Wegmans says one of the main pillars of its scholarship program is to mentor students through a collaborative team of individuals from each participant’s school, their store’s Work Scholarship champion and leadership team.

“Our number one goal with the Work Scholarship Program is to help our participants graduate high school,” said Karen Wegman, Wegmans Work Scholarship coordinator. “The best way for us to do that is by providing a team of people they can rely on, ask for help, and who are proactively helping them learn and grow, as well as monitoring their progress at school and work to ensure they stay on the right track.”

Nearly 5,000 high school students from the City of Rochester have participated in the Wegmans Work Scholarship Program since it was launched, and almost 500 program alumni now work in various roles and divisions across the grocer’s operations. To be eligible, students must meet a 70% or above grade point average and have consistent school attendance in order to maintain employment.

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Program participants who choose to further their education after high school graduation automatically receive the Wegmans Employee Scholarship. The grocer recently marked 40 years since that program’s inception

Over the years, the retailer has awarded $145 million in education assistance to more than 46,500 of its associates. This year alone, 1,500 full- and part-time Wegmans employees received scholarships totaling more than $6.5 million. 

Family-owned Wegmans operates more than 100 stores along the East Coast. The Rochester, N.Y.-based company is No. 39 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its 10 Most Sustainable Grocers for 2024.

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