New grant funding available for USDA Sun Bucks Program

As we head into the heart of summer, The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced new funding opportunities for its Sun Bucks program and more states will be able to automatically enroll students in free or reduced-price meals after implementing Medicaid Direct Certification.

Here’s the latest in school nutrition legislation.

USDA announces grant funding for Sun Bucks program

The USDA has announced $100 million in grant funding to assist states, tribal nations, and U.S. territories implement SUN Bucks, previously known as Summer EBT, this summer.

SUN Bucks provides financial assistance to low-income households to purchase food during the summer months while their children are out of school.

Households located in states that participate receive $120 per child during the summer. The federal government covers the benefit costs associated with the program, but participating states are responsible for paying half of the administrative costs.

A handful of states announced earlier this year that they were opting out of the program, citing the program’s extra costs and its allowance of families to use the funds to purchase food with little nutritional value as reasons why they’re not participating.
The grant funding will be utilized to help improve state technology systems that are used to deploy the program, according to the USDA.

SUN Bucks was first implemented during the pandemic. It became a permanent program after the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

More states sign on to Medicaid Direct Certification

Five additional states have now implemented Medicaid Direct Certification for free and reduced-price school meals.

Families in Idaho, Maine, New Jersey, North Dakota, and Rhode Island who are identified via Medicaid enrollment data will no longer have to turn in a free or reduced-price meal application, reducing the number of applications schools will have to process. 

The USDA started the program as a pilot in the 2012-2013 school year. Back then, only seven states participated in the program. The program has grown over the years to now include 43 states.