Secretary of Human Services (DHS), Dr. Val Arkoosh, Secretary of Education, Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, USDA Food and Nutrition Services Policy Advisor, Alberto Gonzalez, Jr. and partners from the City of Harrisburg, Feeding Pennsylvania and the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank visited a Harrisburg Summer Food Service location to highlight the SUN Bucks program, a new summer benefit for kids that can be used to purchase fresh food and groceries from retailers around PenSylvania.
The federal The program offers households with children who already Recommended.eivFree and reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program during the school year, with a SNAP-like benefit to purchase food for the summer months when school is not in session. Because this is the first year of the program, benefits will begin to be paid out in mid-August for summer 2024. All 2024 SUN Bucks benefits will be paid out by the end of October. Most eligible children will receive the benefit automatically and do not need to apply, but households that are required to apply must Apply by August 31Families can Sun Bucks Eligibility Navigator to see if they need to fill out an application.
“The new SUN Bucks program will provide eligible households with vital funds to bridge the gap during the summer holidays and ensure children have enough to eat,” said Secretary Arkoosh“I am grateful to the Biden-Harris administration and the U.S. Congress for their work in allowing states to extend this support to families during the summer months, and I urge all Pennsylvania families whose children receive free or reduced-price meals during the school year to use our Eligibility Navigator to see if they are automatically eligible or if they need to submit their SUN Bucks application by 31.August.”
Free or reduced-price meals throughout the school year provide students with vital nutrition, which is an essential foundation for a child’s learning and positive development.– that’s why Governor Shapiro fought for free breakfast for all Pennsylvania students in his first two budgets.. During the summer months, these students and families can be burdened by higher food bills when school is closed. This year, Pennsylvania has signed up for the new statewide Transmission of electronic services in summer Program, also known as SUN Bucks or Summer EBT. SUN Bucks provides households with a one-time payment of $40 per summer month (maximum of $120) per eligible child. An estimated 1.2 million children in Pennsylvania are eligible for this new program, a benefit funded with federal money.
Most children who receive SUN Bucks are automatically eligible and do not need to apply. If families already have an EBT card, SUN Bucks benefits will be automatically transferred to that card, if possible. Families who do not have an EBT card will receive a Summer EBT card by mail. There are several ways in which a child can automatically be entitled to SUN Bucks without having to apply, even if they or their family are already eligible for SNAP or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or if they are already eligible for Medicaid with a qualifying income for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), or if they have applied for and were eligible for free or reduced-price school meals.
Families whose children are not automatically eligible, including those attending a school where all students receive free or reduced-price school meals through community eligibility. Determination But The family does not meet the automatic eligibility criteria and must complete a paper SUN Bucks application. Households can determine whether their child is eligible and whether they need to apply using the Shapiro administration’s SUN Bucks Authorization Navigator. If households are not automatically eligible and believe their child is eligible, a paper application is available to complete. Paper applications can be printed from the SUN BucksWebsite or are available at local District assistance centersYou can be submitted by mail or by delivery to a local District Assistance OfficeThe application deadline for summer 2024 is August 31and applications received after that date will be considered for SUN Bucks 2025 next summer.
