New SUN Bucks Program: $120 Food Stamps Payment for SNAP Families

Through its Food and Nutrition Service, the United States Department of Agriculture has launched a new summer initiative to assist families: SUN Bucks, sometimes known as Summer Grocery Benefit for Kids.

This program aims at assisting other eligible families, in addition to SNAP recipients, by providing monetary aid in grocery shopping during school absence.

SUN Count

The SUN Bucks program is designed to provide support for school-aged children in food-insecure U.S. households who qualify based on specific eligibility criteria. Families with eligible children can receive one-time payments of $120 per child, intended to offset summer grocery expenses.

Eligibility

A child must be school-aged—generally between five and eighteen—to participate in SUN Bucks. Additionally, your household must meet one of the following criteria:

Participation in Benefits: Your child will automatically be enrolled in SUN Bucks if your household is already certified to participate in SNAP, TANF, FDPIR, income-eligible Medicaid, or another benefit.
School Meal Programs: Your child may also automatically be enrolled if their school participates in the NSLP or SBP and your income is eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
If your household does not automatically qualify, you can apply outright. Your income must be less than specific limits based on family size. Here is the USDA website for detailed income eligibility.

States of Variations

State-specific program names and specific criteria may vary. SNAP is known as CalFresh in California, for example. While SUN Bucks may have variations depending on where you live, the eligibility and benefits remain the same.

Duration and Distribution

As part of the summer, SUN Bucks offers each eligible youth a one-time payment of $120. This varies not at all whether the youth has first become eligible in the summer or any other time. Key points include:

• Payment: The first SUN Bucks in North Carolina were issued in mid-June 2024 As additional youths are deemed eligible, new incentives will be issued biweekly through the end of September.
• Expiration Benefits are valid 122 days from the original issuance date on the EBT or SUN Bucks card for the household. Before the expiration date 30 days’ notice will be given to households.
• Families can apply for SUN Bucks through August 31, 2024 in Washington state.Supplemental benefits

Other summer feeding activities support families earning SUN Bucks. For example, the SUN Meals program continues to provide free meals either through local meal sites or the SUN Meals To-go service. This helps ensure that children get the nutrition they need on a consistent basis throughout the summer.

Extra Eligibility

Not on SNAP Relax not too much. Households receiving WIC, TANF, or FDPIR are also eligible for SUN Bucks. This program makes sure that summer grocery assistance is widely available.

SUN Notes vs. SNAP

SUN Bucks is a summer boost; SNAP provides benefits year-round. Here’s how they are different:

• Sun Bucks is one-time summer payment; SNAP benefits are monthly.
• SUN Bucks automatically enrolls children who are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches or who participated in SNAP, TANF, FDPIR, or Medicaid at any time during the school year. Some households may need to apply separately.
• SUN Bucks benefits disappear after 122 days if not redeemed; SNAP benefits carry over month-to-month.
• Utilizing SUN Bucks in combination with other summer feeding programs further supports families.
• Sun Bucks is a completely new initiative, totally different from the previous Pandemic-EBT program. All children who received P-EBT will not automatically be qualified for SUN Bucks because the eligibility criteria are very different.

The bottom line with the SUN Bucks program is that it provides great support to families needing extra summer help. Grocery financial assistance helps ensure that even when school’s out, kids are guaranteed a healthy meal.