SNAP beneficiaries with school-age children could be getting an extra $120 this month to help with grocery costs.
SNAP provides monthly benefits to low- and no-income families to help them afford groceries year-round, but during the summer months of June, July and August, the SUN Bucks program offers an additional one-off payment of $120 per eligible child.
This is because children from families who receive benefits may usually receive free meals from school, and when school is not in session, the cost of buying groceries to use at home will rise. Benefits are loaded onto electronic benefit transfer cards, which can be spent in participating grocery and general stores.
The benefit is paid for by the federal government’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) but administered by state and local authorities across the country. This means that not every recipient will be paid on the same date.
Who is eligible for SUN Bucks?
Families with children in which either of the following applies are eligible for SUN Bucks:
- The child is school-age, and the household already participates in benefits such as SNAP, Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
- The child attends a school that offers the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program, and the household income meets the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals.
Most eligible families do not need to apply for the benefit, which will be distributed by authorities automatically. However, some may need to apply for SUN Bucks directly, according to the FNS, details of which will be available from your state provider.
Once you’re enrolled, depending on where the recipient lives, SUN Bucks may be automatically added to your SNAP account and issued as a separate EBT card.
Who is getting SUN Bucks this month?
The following states will issue SUN Bucks payments in August:
- California – for those with family names beginning with M to Z.
- Connecticut – payments will now be made in early August after initially being scheduled for June 23.
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- Pennsylvania
- Virginia
More than 30 states are participating, as well as Washington, D.C., some tribal nations, and the overseas U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Many of these territories already issued SUN Bucks payments in June and July.
However, the additional benefit is not available everywhere, with 12 states not taking part. These are:
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Idaho
- Florida
- Mississippi
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Oklahoma – although tribal nations within the state are taking part
- Texas
- Wyoming
Some of these states declined the USDA offer because they already had summer feeding programs in place. Others disagreed with the continuation of coronavirus pandemic-era aid put in place by President Joe Biden‘s administration. SUN Bucks, then known as Summer EBT or Pandemic EBT, was first authorized in March 2020 and became a permanent fixture in 2024.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
