Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation Grant 2026: Funding Opportunity for Nonprofits in Nutrition, Food Access and Culinary Arts

The Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation Grant is inviting eligible nonprofit organizations to submit applications for grant funding supporting work in nutrition education, improving access to food, and advancing careers in the culinary arts. Eligible organizations whose missions align with the Foundation’s charitable priorities can submit grant requests for consideration for awards in 2027.

The Foundation has a deliberately focused grantmaking approach, meaning organizations are encouraged to carefully assess whether their primary mission and proposed project directly align with at least one of its three stated areas of giving before applying.

About the Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation Grant

The Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation provides support to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations whose primary missions are consistent with the Foundation’s charitable purpose.

For the current grant cycle, the Foundation is particularly interested in nonprofit organizations working in three key areas:

1. Nutrition education
2. Improving access to food
3. Advancing careers in the culinary arts

The opportunity is therefore particularly relevant to organizations running programs that seek to improve people’s understanding of nutrition, increase access to nutritious or sufficient food, or create educational and career pathways within the culinary sector.

Organizations whose primary missions fall outside these three areas are not considered for funding under this grant opportunity.

Key Areas of Funding

1. Nutrition Education

One of the Foundation’s principal areas of giving is nutrition education. This may include nonprofit initiatives designed to improve knowledge and understanding of healthy eating, nutrition, food choices and related educational issues.

Organizations applying under this area should be able to clearly explain how their work contributes to nutrition education and demonstrate the communities or populations that benefit from their programs.

A strong proposal should establish a clear connection between the organization’s existing mission and its proposed nutrition-related activities.

2. Improving Access to Food

The Foundation also supports organizations whose work focuses on improving access to food.

This area may be relevant to nonprofit programs addressing barriers to food access or working to ensure that communities and populations have better access to food resources.

Applicants should clearly describe:

• The food-access issue being addressed.
• The population or community served.
• The activities being undertaken.
• How grant funding would strengthen the program.
• The intended outcomes of the proposed work.

The application should demonstrate a direct relationship between the organization’s work and the Foundation’s focus on improving access to food.

3. Advancing Careers in the Culinary Arts

The third funding priority focuses on advancing careers in the culinary arts.

This area may be particularly relevant to nonprofit organizations providing culinary education, professional development, career preparation, training or other programs designed to help people develop careers in the culinary sector.

Applicants should explain how their programs contribute to career development and what outcomes they expect participants to achieve.

Organizations working in culinary education and workforce development should therefore clearly connect their proposed project to the Foundation’s objective of advancing culinary careers.

Who Can Apply?

The Foundation states that it supports qualified 501(c)(3) organizations whose primary mission aligns with its charitable purpose.

This means the opportunity is intended for nonprofit organizations rather than individual applicants.

Eligible organizations should:

• Hold qualified 501(c)(3) status.
• Have a primary mission aligned with the Foundation’s charitable purpose.
• Work primarily in at least one of the Foundation’s three funding areas.
• Be able to provide organizational and financial information as part of the application.
• Submit a grant proposal explaining how the requested funding will be used.
• Clearly identify the population or communities served.
• Demonstrate how the proposed program aligns with at least one Foundation focus area.

Organizations whose primary mission falls outside nutrition education, food access, or advancing careers in the culinary arts should not expect their applications to be considered under this focused grantmaking program.

Geographic Eligibility and Countries

The application form includes a country field with a wide range of countries, but the Foundation’s eligibility statement specifically refers to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations.

The 501(c)(3) requirement is a U.S. federal tax-exemption classification. Therefore, applicants should not interpret the country dropdown by itself as establishing worldwide eligibility.

There is no race-based eligibility requirement stated in the published grant criteria. Eligibility is based primarily on the organization’s nonprofit status, mission and alignment with the Foundation’s funding priorities.

For organizations outside the United States, it would be important to confirm directly with the Foundation whether they have an eligible structure or qualifying arrangement before preparing an application.

What Information Is Required?

The online application requires applicants to provide detailed organizational, contact and proposal information.

Applicants should be prepared to provide the following:

Organization Details

The application requests:

• Organization name
• Organization EIN/Tax ID number
• Organization website
• Main contact’s first and last name
• Contact person’s title
• Organization address
• Country
• City
• State
• ZIP code
• Email address
• Phone number

Applicants should ensure that this information is accurate and consistent with their official organizational records.

Grant Amount Requested

Applicants are required to specify the amount of funding being requested.

The application does not, in the provided information, specify a standard minimum or maximum grant amount. Organizations should therefore determine the amount requested based on their proposed project, financial needs and the scale of the activities they intend to undertake.

The requested amount should be clearly explained in the accompanying grant proposal.

Grant Proposal Requirements

A central component of the application is the grant proposal.

The Foundation asks applicants to upload a proposal containing several important elements. The proposal should provide enough information for the Foundation to understand the organization, its work, its financial context and the proposed use of grant funds.

The proposal should include:

1. Brief History of the Organization

Applicants should provide a concise history of their organization.

This section should explain:

• When and why the organization was established.
• Its mission.
• Its primary programs.
• The communities or populations it serves.
• The organization’s broader purpose and relevant experience.

The objective is to give the Foundation a clear understanding of the applicant and its existing work.

2. Most Recent Annual Operating Budget

Applicants must provide a high-level overview of their most recent annual operating budget.

The proposal should also identify the organization’s key sources of funding.

This section can help demonstrate the organization’s financial context and provide the Foundation with an understanding of how the proposed grant fits within the organization’s overall operations.

3. Amount Requested

The proposal should clearly state how much funding the organization is requesting.

The requested amount should correspond with the proposed activities and demonstrate a reasonable relationship between the funding request and the anticipated work.

4. How the Funds Will Be Used

Applicants must explain how the grant funding will be used.

This is an important part of the application because the Foundation wants to understand the specific purpose of the requested funds.

Applicants should describe:

• The activities the funding will support.
• The intended outcomes.
• The population being served.
• The expected impact of the project.
• How the project relates to the Foundation’s funding priorities.

5. Alignment With the Foundation’s Focus Areas

The proposal must demonstrate alignment with at least one of the Foundation’s three focus areas.

Applicants should explicitly identify the relevant focus area rather than assuming that the connection will be obvious.

For example, an organization may explain how its proposed project:

• Provides nutrition education;
• Improves access to food; or
• Supports education and career development in the culinary arts.

Organizations whose projects address more than one focus area can explain those connections as well.

How to Strengthen Your Grant Proposal

Although the Foundation does not prescribe a specific proposal format in the information provided, applicants can make their submissions easier to assess by organizing the proposal logically.

A well-organized proposal could include:

1. Organization overview
2. Mission and history
3. Programs and communities served
4. Current need or problem being addressed
5. Proposed project
6. Relevant Foundation funding area
7. Activities and implementation plan
8. Target population
9. Expected outcomes
10. Amount requested
11. Detailed use of funds
12. Annual operating budget and funding sources
13. Expected impact
14. Conclusion

Most importantly, the proposal should maintain a clear connection between the organization’s mission, the proposed activities, the requested funding and one or more of the Foundation’s stated priorities.

Application Deadline

Deadline: November 1, 2026

All applications must be submitted by November 1, 2026, to be considered for grant awards in 2027.

Applicants should avoid waiting until the final day to submit their proposals. Preparing organizational information, financial details and the grant proposal in advance can help ensure that the application is complete before the deadline.

How to Apply

Applications are submitted through the Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation’s online grant request form.

Applicants will need to provide their organizational details, contact information, requested grant amount and grant proposal.

Questions concerning the application can be directed to grantrequest@abzfamilyfoundation.org.

APPLY HERE

Important Points for Prospective Applicants

Before submitting an application, organizations should consider the following:

• Confirm that the organization meets the 501(c)(3) eligibility requirement.
• Review the Foundation’s three funding priorities carefully.
• Determine which funding area most closely matches the organization’s primary mission and proposed project.
• Prepare an accurate overview of the organization’s history and mission.
• Document the communities and populations served.
• Prepare a high-level overview of the most recent annual operating budget.
• Identify the organization’s key funding sources.
• Clearly state the amount being requested.
• Explain exactly how the grant funds would be used.
• Define the intended outcomes of the proposed project.
• Explain how the project benefits the target population.
• Explicitly demonstrate alignment with at least one Foundation focus area.
• Upload the required grant proposal.
• Submit the completed application before November 1, 2026.

Who Is This Opportunity Most Relevant To?

The grant may be particularly relevant to established nonprofit organizations working in areas such as:

• Nutrition education programs
• Food education initiatives
• Food-access programs
• Community food initiatives
• Culinary education
• Culinary workforce development
• Culinary career training
• Programs supporting pathways into culinary professions
• Nonprofit initiatives combining food, nutrition and community development

However, an organization’s work should not merely have a connection to food or culinary activities. The Foundation specifically states that its grantmaking is focused and that it cannot consider requests from organizations whose primary mission falls outside its three areas of giving.

Visit HERE for more information about the Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation Grant 2026.

Conclusion

The Ann B. Zekauskas Family Foundation Grant provides a funding opportunity for qualified nonprofit organizations whose missions align with the Foundation’s focused charitable priorities. The three central areas are nutrition education, improving access to food, and advancing careers in the culinary arts.

For organizations that meet the 501(c)(3) requirement and operate within these areas, the application provides an opportunity to present a specific project, explain the needs of the communities they serve and demonstrate how grant funding could contribute to measurable outcomes.

Prospective applicants should pay particular attention to the Foundation’s eligibility requirements and funding priorities before applying. A strong application should clearly explain the organization’s mission, programs, financial context, proposed activities, intended beneficiaries, expected outcomes and direct connection to at least one of the Foundation’s focus areas.

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