New EBT SUN Bucks: Eligibility, Payment Amount, and How to Apply

SUN Bucks eligibility runs through the school meals system: if your school-age child qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, your family qualifies for the $120 summer grocery benefit, and in most cases enrollment happens automatically without an application. Families who aren’t picked up automatically, or whose children attend a school where individual meal eligibility isn’t tracked, can apply through their state’s benefits agency. The program is officially the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, made permanent nationwide starting in 2024.¹²

Who Qualifies

The program covers school-age children eligible for free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program. That ties eligibility to household income at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.² For 2026, that threshold is $61,050 for a family of four in the contiguous United States.³ Alaska sits at $76,313 and Hawaii at $70,208.

Some children qualify automatically with no income test. Every school-age child in a household that participates in SNAP, TANF, or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations is categorically eligible. So are children in foster care, children experiencing homelessness, and migrant students.²

One boundary trips up a lot of families. Children who attend a school using the Community Eligibility Provision eat free meals no matter what their family earns, but attending a CEP school does not, by itself, qualify a child for SUN Bucks. Unless the household is categorically eligible through SNAP, TANF, or one of the other qualifying programs, the family still has to meet the 185 percent income threshold, and often has to apply because individual meal records aren’t kept at CEP schools.

SUN Bucks doesn’t replace summer meal sites. A child can receive the $120 grocery benefit and also eat free meals at community summer feeding programs.

States Not Participating in 2026

Twelve states are not set to run SUN Bucks in 2026: Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Families in those states will not receive the benefit even if their children would otherwise qualify. If you’re unsure whether your state participates, check with your state’s social services agency.

How Much You Get and When

Each qualifying child receives $120 for the summer, based on a $40 monthly figure across the three-month summer period, with annual adjustments tied to the USDA’s food plan.¹ Benefits load onto an EBT card. If your household already gets SNAP, the funds may appear on your existing SNAP card; otherwise the state mails a separate card.²

Timing varies by state, but funds usually become available in late May or early June. Once loaded, the money must be spent within 122 days of the issuance date. Anything left after that window is permanently removed. Mailing delays don’t extend the clock, so activating and using the card promptly matters.

How Automatic Enrollment Works

Most eligible families never fill out anything. State agencies match school meal records against SNAP, TANF, and other benefit databases to identify eligible children and enroll them.² If you’re already in one of those programs, the summer funds may just appear on the card you already use. Otherwise a new EBT card arrives by mail.

The weak point is your address. If the state has an old address on file, the card goes to the wrong place and the 122-day expiration still starts running. Update your mailing address with your state’s social services agency before summer if you’ve moved. If early June comes and you’ve heard nothing but believe your child qualifies, call the state agency to confirm your enrollment status.

How to Apply If You’re Not Automatically Enrolled

Direct applications are most common in two situations: your child attends a CEP school, or your household isn’t in SNAP or TANF but your income is under the 185 percent threshold.

What You’ll Need

Applications ask for basic information on each child and household finances:²

The child’s full legal name and date of birth, matching school enrollment records exactly. Small mismatches cause delays.
The specific school the child attended in the most recent academic year.
A current mailing address where the card can be sent. Families experiencing homelessness can usually list a shelter or agency address.
Household income documentation such as recent pay stubs, unemployment statements, or benefit letters, showing gross income consistent with what you would report on a tax return.
Social Security numbers for household members. Some states ask for these, though providing them is often optional.

Submitting It

Most states take applications through their online benefit portals, which is the fastest path and usually lets you upload income documents on the spot. Save the confirmation number or print the confirmation page. Paper applications remain available for families without reliable internet; mail them to the address on the form or drop them at a local social services office or school district hub.

Federal rules require the state to issue an eligibility determination within 15 operational days of receiving a completed application. Once you’re approved, the EBT card arrives by mail. Activate it by calling the number on the back, setting a four-digit PIN, and then you can shop.

What You Can Buy

SUN Bucks follows SNAP food rules. Eligible items include any food or food product intended for home consumption, plus seeds and plants that produce food for household use.⁴ Fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, bread, cereal, and frozen meals you cook at home are all fine.

Not eligible:

Hot prepared foods, including rotisserie chickens and deli sandwiches sold hot and ready to eat.
Alcohol and tobacco.
Non-food items such as cleaning supplies, paper products, pet food, vitamins, and medicine.

The card works at most grocery stores, supermarkets, and many smaller retailers displaying the EBT symbol. Many farmers’ markets accept EBT for locally grown produce as well.

If Your Application Is Denied

If the state denies your application or takes another adverse action, you have the right to a fair hearing. File the appeal within 90 days after the end of the summer operational period.⁵ The agency has to give you a straightforward way to request one, by phone or in writing.

In the hearing, you can be represented by an attorney or anyone else you choose, review the documents the agency used to decide, and present your own evidence. The person conducting the hearing must not have been involved in the original denial. If the outcome finds you should have received benefits, the state must issue the back-benefits you were owed.⁵

A Note for Immigrant Families

Under the public charge rule in effect since December 2022, immigration officials cannot consider a household’s use of SNAP or similar nutrition benefits when making public charge determinations. SUN Bucks is a nutrition benefit administered alongside SNAP, so receiving it should not affect immigration cases under the current rule. A proposed regulation published in November 2025 would broaden the public charge definition and could pull in more types of public benefits, but that proposal had not been finalized as of early 2026. The current rule remains in effect until any replacement takes its legal course.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 1762 – Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children Program
2
Food and Nutrition Service. Summer EBT
3
HHS ASPE. 2026 Poverty Guidelines – Detailed Guidelines
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 2012 – Definitions
5
eCFR. 7 CFR 292.26 – Hearing Procedure for Families and Summer EBT Agencies