As summer approaches, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), through its Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), announced a plan to support low-income families with school-aged children. These families will receive an extra payment of up to $120.
According to the USDA, this benefit will be an extension of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), specifically through the SUN Buck initiative, which is aimed at children who receive free meals at school, the official USDA statement indicates this extra financing will be deposited into EBT transfer cards, throughout the months of June, July and August, the amount that will be granted will be $40 per month for each dependent child.
This year, it is expected that nearly 29 million children in at least 35 states will benefit from this initiative. Are you interested in knowing the requirements necessary to qualify for certain family benefits? Here we will tell you the eligibility criteria and give you essential information so that you can better understand these benefits.
Family Eligibility Requirements
To qualify for these benefits, families must meet the following criteria:
- The child was in a household that participated in SNAP benefits or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in any month from July 1, 2023 through August 4, 2024.
- The child has been identified as a ward of the state (foster child), or identified by their school as homeless, migrant, or runaway.
- The child attended a school that offers the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and the household applied for and was approved for free or reduced-price school meals.
- Exceptions to the school-aged requirement are Head Start and/or other pre-K students that attended a program that participated in the NSLP at their NSLP participating school.
What are the eligibility criteria to receive SUN Buck checks as a SNAP recipient?
To be eligible to receive SUN Buck checks as a SNAP recipient, your child must meet the following criteria:
- They are between 5 and 18 years old and received SNAP or TANF any time between July 1, 2023, and March 22, 2024.
- They attend a public school, a DC public charter school, or a qualifying private school, since private schools participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).
- Are enrolled in preschool, elementary school, middle school, or high school, or are an adult student.
- Your household income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty level, for example, for a family of 4, that’s $55,500 annually.
If your child meets the pre-approval criteria, they will be enrolled in SUN Bucks. If you are not automatically enrolled, you can apply to SUN Bucks directly.
Once enrolled, each eligible student will receive $120 for the summer, preloaded on an EBT card, you can use the card as a debit card, you can use it to purchase SNAP-eligible foods, you can use it at grocery stores, farmers markets and online retailers that accept SNAP.
These Are the States That Provide the SUN Bucks Benefits of $120
Although some states such as Nevada, Missouri and New Hampshire plan to join the SUN Bucks program, it is not possible for this summer, therefore, SNAP recipients in these states will have to wait to collect these checks.
Here is the complete list:
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Illinois (SNAP/TANF)
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- North Dakota
- New York (P-EBT)
- North Carolina
- Ohio, Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Tennessee
- Vermont
- Virgini
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (P-EBT)
