Program Bridges Nutrition Gap for Keiki in Summer

DHS News Release

The Department of Human Services announced the launch of the SUN Bucks program application on July 5. DHS is disbursing this benefit and working with the Hawai‘i Department of Education to implement the SUN Bucks program for school-aged children this summer, according to a DHS news release.
Summer EBT, also called SUN Bucks, is a new and permanent program to provide benefits to households with school-aged children to purchase food during the summer. Households will receive $177 for each qualifying child, to be spent during the summer months. Eligibility must be established annually.
School-aged children are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks if:
● The child was in a household that participated in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in any month from July 1, 2023 through August 4, 2024; or
● The child has been identified as a ward of the state (foster child), or identified by their school as homeless, migrant, or runaway; or
● 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.
The following households would need to complete a SUN Bucks application starting July 5 through Aug. 4:
● Households with children attending a school operating the Community Eligibility Provision where all meals are free to all students, who did not apply for or was not approved for free or reduced-price school meals and who have household income that falls at or below the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines.
● Households with children attending a school operating NSLP who were not approved for free or reduced-price meals during the school year but may be eligible now because their household income falls at or below the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines (humanservices.hawaii.gov).
The program will benefit schoolchildren at least six years old, and who will not have arrived at the age of 18 years on or before Dec. 31 of any school year.
Homeschool families that receive or received SNAP or TANF in any month from July 1, 2023 through Aug. 4, 2024, or have a foster child are eligible to receive this benefit.
SUN Bucks is funded by the state of Hawaiʻi and the United States Department of Agriculture.
Visit sunbucks.dhs.hawaii.gov to begin the online application process or to download the paper application. Contact the SUN Bucks Customer Service toll-free at 1-888-975-SEBT(7328) if you have any questions about the online application process.