We have a local community foundation that provides merit based scholarships, but requires the student to file a FAFSA. Need isn’t considered, they just want to be sure students are eligible for the federal and state grants (some states use the FAFSA to determine need and even merit aid).
Also, you never know what might happen. I encouraged my kids to file so they’d have access to student loans just in case. My S didn’t want to last year, and it’s my understanding some schools sent CARES money to students that had filed one.