What is Summer EBT/SUN Bucks:
A new program called Summer EBT, or“SUN Bucks,”has been authorized by a bipartisan U.S. Congress to provide food dollarsto low-income families with school-aged children over the summer months. The program is proven to reduce food insecurity and improvechildren's nutritionduringsummer break. Governor Shapiro’s administration announced that the Commonwealth would participate in this program beginning in the summer of 2024. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the program, and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) coordinates the benefit issuance in Pennsylvania.
Who is Eligible:
A student isautomatically eligiblefor2024Summer EBT/SUN Bucks iftheyare enrolled ata school thatparticipates inthe National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast Program (SBP),ANDtheyqualifyfor free or reduced-price school mealsfor any of these reasons:
1.Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or
2.Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or
3.MedicalAssistancewith incomethat qualifies themfor the NSLP/SBP,or
4.Household meal application with income that qualifies,or
5.Are homeless, runaway,migrant,foster,or in Head Start
If your child is automatically eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks, you do not need to do anything elseto receive the benefit.
If you believe your income qualifies (185% or less of the federal poverty level), you can still apply for free or reduced meals through the school (unless your child attends aCommunity Eligibility Provision* (CEP)school)or apply for the Summer EBT/SUN Bucks through DHS. See “Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Application” below for details.
Students who arehomeschooled or are taught virtuallyfor100% of the school year are ineligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks.The only exceptionis if the child also attends a school building regularlythat offers them NSLP/SBP school meals.
*IMPORTANT:Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)is a special program that allows NSLP/SBP schools in low-income areas to feed all students for free during the school year, regardless of each student’s economic level. However, Summer EBT/SUN Bucks is based on each student’s situation.StudentsatCEP schools arenotautomatically eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucksunlessthey receive SNAP, TANF, or Medical Assistancewith income that qualifies them for free/reduced meals or are homeless, runaway, migrant, foster,or in Head Start.
Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Application:
Families should only submit a Summer EBT/SUN Bucks application if their child attendedan NSLP/SBP-participatingschoolin the 2023-2024 school yearandwas notfoundautomaticallyeligible forSummer EBT/SUNBucks.
Summer EBT/SUN Bucks applications will be availableonJuly 1,2024,on the DHS SUN Bucks webpage as a fillable PDF form in English and Spanish. DHS will review the family’s application to confirm that the child attended an NSLP/SBPschool,and that the family income qualifies for the benefit (185% or less ofthefederal poverty level).To qualify for SUN Bucks for 2024, an application must be submitted by August 31, 2024. Any applications submitted on or after September 1, 2024, will be held and considered only for SUN Bucks for the summer of 2025.
Benefit Issuance:
For thesummer of 2024,a household will receivea$120 Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefit (which equals $40 for each summer month) for every eligible child in the household.
The benefit will be issued at the household level, meaning ifmultiple eligible students arein a household, the benefit will be combined into one issuance amount. The benefit will be issued to the family’s existing state EBT card (for SNAP or TANF) or on a new SUN Bucks card that is mailed, in most cases, to the household contact and address DHS has on file for that household.Schools are not able to change this information.If your SNAP, TANF, or Medical Assistanceinformation needs to be updated, contact your County Assistance Office. If the household does not have a SNAP, TANF,or Medical Assistance case with DHS, the address that the school has on file will be used.
DHS will issue the 2024 Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefits from late August to September 2024. All benefits should be issued by the end of October 2024. This may seem late for a benefit intended to assist eligible children and families over the summer months. DHS is building new processes andsystems to meet USDA guidelines for this new program. Families are asked tobe patientand understanding during this implementation year. The intent is for the benefit to be issued earlier in the summer break in future years.
Schools cannot assist families with Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefit questions. Schoolscannot accessthe state’s Summer EBT/SUN Bucks system or records.
Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Resources for Families:
DHS and their County Assistance Offices offer family support for Summer EBT/SUNBucks.
TheDHSSummer EBT/SUN Bucks webpage for familiescan be foundhere:http://www.dhs.pa.gov/SunBucks.This webpage provides information about thebenefit, Frequently Asked Questions, the SUN Bucks family application, and an eligibility navigator tool to help families determine if they need to apply.
County Assistance Offices canprovide family support for all Summer EBT/SUN Bucks questions.A CAO locator tool is found here:https://www.dhs.pa.gov/services/assistance/pages/cao-contact.aspx
TheStatewide Customer Service Centercan be reached by phone at1-877-395-8930, or 1-215-560-7226 in Philadelphia.
Note: DHS asks families not to call the County Assistance Offices or Statewide Customer Service lines regardingnot receivingSummer EBT/SUN Bucks before the end ofAugust2024, whenalmostalltheSummer EBT/SUN Bucks benefitsfor automatically eligible childrenhave beenissued.
SNAP, TANF,and Medical Assistance households that need to update their address with DHS should do so as soon as possible.
