Published on May 31, 2024
A new program called Summer EBT, or “SUN Bucks,” has been authorized by a bipartisan
U.S. Congress to provide food dollars to low-income families with school-aged children over
the summer months. The program is proven to reduce food insecurity and improve
children’s nutrition during summer 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.
A student is automatically eligible for 2024 Summer EBT/SUN Bucks if they are enrolled at
a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or School Breakfast
Program (SBP), AND they qualify for free or reduced-price school meals for any of these
Reasons:
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or
Medical Assistance with income that qualifies them for the NSLP/SBP, or
Household meal application with income that qualifies, or
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 else to 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 a Community
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 are homeschooled or are taught virtually for 100% of the school year are
ineligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks. The only exception is if the child also attends a school
building regularly that 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. Students at CEP schools are not automatically
eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks unless they receive SNAP, TANF, or Medical
Assistance with income that qualifies them for free/reduced meals or are homeless,
runaway, migrant, foster, or in Head Start.
Families should only submit a Summer EBT/SUN Bucks application if their child attended an
NSLP/SBP-participating school in the 2023-2024 school year and was not found
automatically eligible for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks.
Summer EBT/SUN Bucks applications will be available on July 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/SBP school, and that the family
income qualifies for the benefit (185% or less of the federal 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.
For the summer of 2024, a household will receive a $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 if multiple eligible students are in
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
Assistance information 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 and systems to meet USDA guidelines for this new program. Families
are asked to be patient and 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. Schools
cannot access the state’s Summer EBT/SUN Bucks system or records.
DHS and their County Assistance Offices offer family support for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks.
The DHS Summer EBT/SUN Bucks webpage for families can be found here:
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/SunBucks . This webpage provides information about the benefit,
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 can provide 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
The Statewide Customer Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-877-395-8930, or 1-
215-560-7226 in Philadelphia.
Note: DHS asks families not to call the County Assistance Offices or Statewide Customer
Service lines regarding not receiving Summer EBT/SUN Bucks before the end of August
2024, when almost all the Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefits for automatically eligible
children have been issued.
SNAP, TANF, and Medical Assistance households that need to update their address with
DHS should do so as soon as possible.