SUN Bucks / Summer EBT

What this actually is

A summer grocery benefit of $120 per eligible school-age child, loaded onto a card to spend at authorized food retailers when school is out. It is not a loan and it does not reduce SNAP, school meals, or anything else. Two traps. First, it is NOT nationwide: states, Tribes and territories choose whether to run it, so you have to check whether yours does. Second, it goes by different names in different places — SUN Bucks in some states, something else in others — so parents search for the wrong words and conclude it does not exist where they live. Many eligible children are enrolled automatically through school meal records and the family simply gets a card in the mail; others have to apply. Check the participating-areas map for your state before assuming either way.

Who qualifies, and what trips people up

School-age children in participating states, Tribes and territories. Children already certified for free or reduced-price school meals are generally picked up automatically, which is why getting the school meal application in during the school year matters for summer money too. Where an application is required, it runs through the state agency, not the school. This is a benefit for the child, so it is unaffected by whether the adults in the household qualify for anything. Use the participating-areas map on the source page to find your state's name for the program and its application route.