Key Updates
- Educators, community partners, and county offices: view the SUN Bucks resources toolkit.
- Use the SUN Bucks Search Tool to see if your child’s school is part of the National Lunch School Program (NSLP) or Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Whether or not the school is NSLP or CEP may impact your child’s eligibility (see “Does my child qualify for SUN Bucks” for more information).
What is SUN Bucks?
The USDA has launched a new, permanent program to provide food assistance to children and families during the summer. The SUN Bucks program will officially launch in summer 2024! SUN Bucks will provide grocery-buying benefits to qualifying families with school-aged children during the summer months when schools are on summer break. SUN Bucks is sometimes referred to as Summer EBT.
SUN Bucks benefits are issued to debit-like cards (EBT cards) that families can use to purchase nutritious food. Beginning in summer 2024, families will receive $120 per eligible child for the summer period.
SUN Bucks Flyer: English, Spanish.
Stay Tuned!
More information about the SUN Bucks program will be shared as it becomes available, including more details about eligibility, issuance dates, and frequently asked questions. Please monitor this webpage and the NCDHHS Instagram, Facebook page, and X account (Twitter) for the most up-to-date information and announcements.
Who Will Qualify to Receive SUN Bucks?
Some families will have to apply for the SUN Bucks program, but many students will automatically qualify for the program. Children will automatically qualify if they already participate in any of the following programs:
- Free or Reduced-Price (FRP) meals at school because they have an approved FRP application at school, or
- Food and Nutrition Services (FNS, food stamps), or
- Work First (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), cash assistance), or
- Medicaid with household income below 185% of the federal poverty level, or
- Foster care.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found here.
Source: NCDHHS
Last Updated: 5/16/24
