SUN Bucks (Summer EBT)

Background

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L 117-328) (PDF) authorized a new permanent, nationwide Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program, also known as SUN Bucks (Summer EBT), beginning in 2024. SUN Bucks is designed to provide financial benefits for groceries to eligible children when school is not in session. For 2024, the maximum SUN Bucks benefit was $40 per eligible child, per month, for each of the three months when schools are closed for the summer (June, July, and August). For ease and convenience, households receive a one-time single benefit amount of $120 per eligible child.

In Summer 2024, California has provided approximately $672 million in food benefits to over 5.6 million children throughout the state.

Eligibility

For most eligible children, enrollment in SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) is an automatic process called streamlined certification.

SUN Bucks benefits apply to children that meet the following eligibility requirements:

1. Streamlined certification through the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS): Age 6–18 and enrollment in CalFresh, CalWORKs, or Medi-Cal (with income confirmed at or under 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level [FPL]).

OR

2. Certification through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS): Enrollment in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast Program (SBP).

AND

Determined eligible during the school year or the directly succeeding summer period for free or reduced-price meals through NSLP meal application or Universal Benefits Application (UBA), local direct certification, or designation as homeless, migrant, or foster.

Eligibility for SUN Bucks benefits are automatically determined by the CDSS using data from CalSAWS and free or reduced-price meal (FRPM) eligibility records submitted to the CDE. Children determined to be eligible for SUN Bucks through CalSAWS must participate in CalFresh, CalWORKS, or Medi-Cal (at or under 185 percent of the FPL).

Children determined eligible for SUN Bucks benefits through FRPM records must be categorically eligible based on their designation as migrant, homeless, or foster or directly certified based on participation in a federal benefit such as CalFresh, CalWORKS, or Medi-Cal (at or under 185 percent of the FPL). Children who are not categorically eligible or directly certified must apply to be determined eligible for SUN Bucks. The type of application that a child must submit is dependent upon their school of attendance’s school meal participation (standard counting and claiming or provision status).

Children who attend a standard counting and claiming school are required to submit a school meal application annually. Eligibility determinations that are reported to the CDE via CALPADS (181 and 182 records) will result in children receiving summer 2025 SUN Bucks.

Children who attend school sites that participate in a federal feeding provision (Community Eligibility Provision [CEP] or Provision 2 [P2]) and are not categorically eligible or directly certified, must establish SUN Bucks eligibility through the submission of a UBA. UBA records must be submitted to the CDE via the Education Data Collection System (EDCS). Note that schools that are establishing a new P2 base year will utilize meal applications during their base year in lieu of the UBA.

Eligibility for 2025 SUN Bucks

Children may be determined eligible through CALPADS if they have attended or are attending a NSLP/SBP participating school anytime during the eligibility period, and have a FRPM record in CALPADS based on a NSLP meal application, a local direct certification match with the LEA’s county welfare department, are categorically eligible based on a migrant or homeless record, have been identified as a foster youth in CALPADS, or are reported to the CDE as FRPM eligible based on an approved UBA. Students enrolling for the first time in the 2025−26 school year must submit a UBA, as the Alternative Income Form will no longer qualify students attending CEP or Provision 2 schools for SUN Bucks.

Private schools participating in the NSLP/SBP in California do not have access to CALPADS. For information on private school FRPM records, see the FAQ tab.

Important notes:

• SUN Bucks is a new program and does not have the same eligibility requirements as Pandemic EBT (P-EBT). With P-EBT all students enrolled in CEP schools were automatically eligible for P-EBT. This is not the case for SUN Bucks, which requires annual individual eligibility determinations based on household income requirements.

• Not all children enrolled in Medi-Cal are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks. Children who receive Supplemental Security Income/State Supplementary Payment, or the Adoption Assistance Program may be enrolled in Medi-Cal but they may not meet the 185 percent of the FPL threshold to be eligible for SUN Bucks. Children that fall into this category may need to submit an NSLP meal application or a UBA with their LEA to determine their eligibility for SUN Bucks.

• In California, the Universal Meals Program provides school meals at no cost to all school age children, regardless of their FRPM eligibility. If a student has not been certified at or below 185 percent of the FPL, they may need to submit a school NSLP meal application or a UBA to their LEA to determine their eligibility for SUN Bucks.

Application

The eligibility period for summer 2025 began on July 1, 2024, and goes through September 1, 2025.

The CDE has developed a Universal Benefits Application (UBA) for LEAs to use at National School Lunch Program (NSLP) schools operating under federal provisions such as Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) or Provision 2 (P2) in non-base years. The UBA must be collected annually to establish student eligibility for SUN Bucks (Summer EBT). Schools operating standard counting and claiming must continue using NSLP meal applications to make free and reduced-price meal (FRPM) eligibility determinations. The UBA is only intended for schools operating a federal provision. The table below indicates which application LEAs should use based on whether they participate in NSLP/SBP and/or operate a federal provision.

Access to the Universal Benefits Application (UBA) template (DOCX).

Please note, the template UBA complies with federal requirements for the SUN Bucks program. To ensure access to SUN Bucks benefits for children, eligibility determinations must be made using this application. Eligibility determinations made using the UBA can be used for SUN Bucks, Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) unduplicated pupil counts, and, if applicable, other benefits specific to your LEA or community (i.e., discounts on internet services, transportation services, etc.). If an LEA does not use the UBA template and instead creates their own SUN Bucks-compliant application it must comply with the federal requirements set forth in Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 292.13 .

Universal Benefits Application (UBA) Collection

LEAs can incorporate the UBA in their designated online portals or make hard copy applications available. LEAs should encourage parents and guardians to complete the UBA as soon as possible to ensure their children can access all eligible benefits. Standard Counting and Claiming schools and P2 schools in their base year should continually make FRPM eligibility determinations and routinely update the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System. CEP and P2 schools not in their base year should routinely submit records to California’s Education Data Collection System. This will ensure that students do not experience a delay in receiving their SUN Bucks benefits.

For questions or additional information on the SUN Bucks program contact summerebt@cde.ca.gov. For questions regarding LCFF contact PASE@cde.ca.gov.

For outreach materials that can be used to promote SUN Bucks, visit CDSS Partners web page .

Best Practices

Below are suggested SUN Bucks best practices for LEAs.

Enabling families to establish SUN Bucks eligibility throughout the operational period

Students may become eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks at any point during the school year through the submission of a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal application. Children enrolled at a school participating in a federal provision can become eligible through the submission and processing of a Universal Benefits Application (UBA) after July 1, 2024. For SUN Bucks 2025, LEAs must submit program records to California’s Education Data Collection System (EDCS) for these children to receive SUN Bucks benefits. Additionally, students may enroll in a California public school at any time during the eligibility period. See the table below for guidance on collecting and processing NSLP applications and UBAs throughout the eligibility period (July 1, 2024–September 1, 2025).

Note: SUN Bucks cards are mailed to the address uploaded to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). If an address is missing, the district’s address is populated for a student and the card is mailed to the district office for distribution. Therefore, LEAs are also encouraged to populate student addresses in their student information system so that those addresses are uploaded to CALPADS and cards are mailed directly to families, not the district. For students enrolling for the first time in school year 2025−26, it is important that LEAs upload student addresses on the Student Information File when the enrollment records and program records are uploaded to CALPADS to ensure that cards are sent to students and not to district offices.

Inform families of SUN Bucks eligibility

Under the previous Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) program, all students enrolled in Community Eligibility Provision schools received P-EBT benefits. This is not the case for SUN Bucks, as students must be individually eligible. This means that unless a student is migrant, homeless, foster, or directly certified through participation in CalFresh, CalWORKS , or Medi-Cal (at or below the 185 percent Federal Poverty Level [FPL]), students at Provision schools must submit a UBA to determine whether they are eligible for SUN Bucks benefits.

If an LEA evaluates the UBA and determines the student meets the income requirements for SUN Bucks, then LEAs may submit a free or reduced-price meal record to EDCS.

As a best practice, the CDE recommends that LEAs communicate the following SUN Bucks eligibility criteria to families:

• Students must be determined individually eligible to receive 2025 SUN Bucks benefits through the evaluation of an NSLP meal application or a UBA. SUN Bucks eligibility determinations cannot be made using the Alternative Income Form (AIF).

• Students are not automatically eligible for SUN Bucks because they are enrolled in a provision school.

• Unless a student is migrant, homeless, foster, or directly certified through participation in CalFresh, CalWORKS , or Medi-Cal (at or below the 185 percent FPL), the student must submit a UBA or NSLP meal application.

• Submission of a UBA or NSLP meal application does not automatically make a student eligible for SUN Bucks benefits. The information on the form must be evaluated to determine whether the family meets the income requirements to receive SUN Bucks benefits. LEAs need to inform families as to whether they are eligible for SUN Bucks, so that families know whether they can expect to receive benefits.

• 2025 SUN Bucks cards will not be mailed until summer 2025. Therefore, families should not expect summer 2025 benefits until then. Families who submitted an application for the first time or became eligible after April 1, 2025, will receive benefits later in the summer or fall.

LEAs should notify families of UBA determinations so that families know whether to expect SUN Bucks benefits.

Resources

CDE

• California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Flashes #269 and #284

CDSS

• CDSS SUN Bucks web page
• General FAQ
• Outreach materials for Sun Bucks partners

USDA

• Summer EBT Outreach Toolkit | Food and Nutrition Service (usda.gov)
• Summer-EBT FAQ

FAQ

1. What is the SUN Bucks Program?

   SUN Bucks is also referred to as Summer EBT, S-EBT, or Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L 117-328) authorized a new permanent, nationwide SUN Bucks Program beginning in 2024. SUN Bucks is designed to provide financial benefits for groceries to eligible children when school is not in session. The maximum SUN Bucks benefit is $40 per eligible child, per month, for each of the three months when schools are closed for the summer (June, July, and August). For ease and convenience, households receive a one-time single benefit amount of $120 per eligible child. The CDSS is the lead agency for SUN Bucks, and the CDE works in partnership with CDSS to administer the Program.

2. What was the eligibility period for SUN Bucks?

   The eligibility period for SUN Bucks spans two fiscal years and is July 1 through August 31 of the next year, unless the end date falls on a Saturday or Sunday. For example, the eligibility period for 2025 SUN Bucks is July 1, 2024, through September 1, 2025.

3. What are the eligibility requirements for SUN Bucks?

   SUN Bucks benefits apply to children that meet the following eligibility requirements:

   1. Streamlined certification through the California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS): Age 6–18 and enrollment in CalFresh, CalWORKs, or Medi-Cal (with income confirmed at or under 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level [FPL]).

   OR

   2. Certification through the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS): Enrollment in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast Program (SBP).

   AND

   Determined eligible during the school year or the directly succeeding summer period for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) through NSLP meal application or Universal Benefits Application (UBA), local direct certification, or designation as homeless, migrant, or foster.

   Eligibility for summer 2025 SUN Bucks benefits are automatically determined by the CDSS using data from the CalSAWS and FRPM records submitted to the CDE. Children determined to be eligible for SUN Bucks through CalSAWS must participate in CalFresh, CalWORKS, or Medi-Cal (at or under 185 percent of the FPL).

   Children determined eligible for SUN Bucks benefits through FRPM records must be categorically eligible based on their designation as migrant, homeless, or foster or directly certified based on participation in a federal benefit such as CalFresh, CalWORKS, or Medi-Cal (at or under 185 percent of the FPL). Children who are not categorically eligible or directly certified must apply to be determined eligible for SUN Bucks. The type of application that a child must submit is dependent upon their school of attendance’s school meal participation (standard counting and claiming or provision status).

   Children who attend a standard counting and claiming school are required to submit a school meal application annually.  Eligibility determinations that are reported to the CDE via CALPADS (181 and 182 records) will result in children receiving summer 2025 SUN Bucks.

   Children who attend school sites that participate in a federal feeding provision (Community Eligibility Provision [CEP] or Provision 2 [P2]), and are not categorically eligible or directly certified, must establish SUN Bucks eligibility through the submission of a Universal Benefits Application (UBA). UBA records must be submitted to the CDE via the Education Data Collection System (EDCS). Note that schools that are establishing a new Provision 2 base year will utilize meal applications during their base year in lieu of the UBA and will submit their FRPM records to CALPADS.

   For private school FRPM records, see question #13.

4. Will categorically eligible students automatically receive SUN Bucks?

   Yes. Categorically eligible students automatically receive SUN Bucks if they attended an National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast Program (SBP) participating school at any point during that year’s SUN Bucks eligibility period, and during that period have a migrant (135) or homeless (191) program record in California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), or are identified as Foster in CALPADS.  Migrant, homeless, or foster students who do not attend an NSLP/SBP participating school are not eligible for SUN Bucks benefits.

5. How do families know if they are eligible for SUN Bucks?

   Use of National School Lunch Program (NSLP) applications is required at Standard Counting and Claiming schools and Provision 2 (P2) schools during base years. Federal regulations governing the NSLP/School Breakfast Program (SBP) require LEAs to process NSLP meal applications within a certain timeframe and to inform families of whether students are determined eligible for free or reduced-price meals within specified timeframes. More information on NSLP applications and associated processing and notification requirements can be found in Section 3 of USDA’s Eligibility Manual for School Meals (PDF). These processing and notification requirements do not currently exist for the UBA. LEAs should process UBAs as they are submitted and inform families of the eligibility determination. It is important that families are made aware of whether they qualify SUN Bucks, so they know whether to expect the benefit and can take the proper steps to follow up if the benefit is not received.

6. Will all children who attend special provision schools be automatically enrolled in SUN Bucks (i.e., be issued benefits without needing to apply)?

   No. To be eligible for SUN Bucks, children must be individually determined to be eligible for free or reduced-price school meal benefits based on eligibility determinations made during the eligibility period. For 2025 SUN Bucks, the eligibility period is from July 1, 2024, through September 1, 2025. Children enrolled in schools operating under the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) who are not otherwise identified as SUN Bucks-eligible through streamlined certification may apply for SUN Bucks using a UBA every year. Children enrolled in schools operating under Provision 2 who are not otherwise identified as SUN Bucks-eligible through streamlined certification may apply for SUN Bucks using an National School Lunch Program (NSLP) application during base years and UBAs during non-base years. SUN Bucks has different requirements from Pandemic EBT where all children in special provision schools were eligible for benefits.

7. How do Provision schools and/or districts identify students eligible for SUN Bucks?

   LEAs who participate in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) must continue to make the UBA available to families throughout the year for purposes of SUN Bucks eligibility determinations. This means that CEP LEAs may accept UBAs during the year from continuing students regardless of whether it is the LEA’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) base year. LEAs who participate in Provision 2 should continue to make UBAs available to families throughout non-base years and should make National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal applications available throughout their base years.

8. If LEAs collect and process Universal Benefits Applications that are used for SUN Bucks eligibility and they participate in Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)/Provision 2 (P2), are they violating CEP/P2 program regulations?

   No. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and School Breakfast Program (SBP) regulations at Title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR), Section 245.9(f)(4)(iv) that prohibit CEP schools from collecting free or reduced-price household meal applications do not apply to the processing of UBAs as they relate to SUN Bucks.

9. Can children enrolled at a National School Lunch Program (NSLP)/School Breakfast Program (SBP) school who are older or younger than the age of compulsory school attendance (ages 6-18) participate in SUN Bucks?

   Yes, children of any age who are enrolled in an NSLP/SBP participating school are eligible to receive SUN Bucks benefits if they are categorically eligible or reside in a household with an income level at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and complete an NSLP meal application or a UBA. These students must have a Statewide Student Identifier, and the LEA must submit their enrollments to California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) along with the program record that makes the student eligible (181, 182, 135, 191), or they must be identified as foster in CALPADS. The age of compulsory school attendance is the age range (6-18 in California) in which children who participate in CalFresh, CalWORKs, or Medi-Cal (at or below 185 percent of the FPL) are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks through California Statewide Automated Welfare System (CalSAWS) data [Title 7Code of Federal Regulations (7 CFR) 292.2 “School aged” ; 7 CFR 292.6 ]. Children who are directly certified and are between the ages of 6 to 18 do not also need to be enrolled in an NSLP/SBP participating school to receive SUN Bucks.

10. How can private schools participate in SUN Bucks?

    Private schools do not report student eligibility information in California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). Therefore, private schools have been provided with a separate process to report eligible student information for SUN Bucks benefits. The benefits, timeframes, and eligibility requirements are the same as public school students. The CDE has reached out directly to private schools that participate in the NSLP/SBP to obtain eligibility data. If a private school wishes to report eligible student information for SUN Bucks disbursement, please reach out to SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov. Note: Students attending private schools may receive SUN Bucks through streamlined certification if the student is between the ages of 6 and 18 and participates in CalFresh, CalWORKs, or Medi-Cal (with income confirmed at or under 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level).

11. How can students apply for 2025 SUN Bucks?

    For summer 2025, students will be identified as eligible for SUN Bucks based on data submitted by LEAs to the Education Data Collection System (EDCS) during the 2024–25 school year, and the first few months of the 2025−26 school year (through September 1, 2025).

    Students may become eligible at any time during the 2025 SUN Bucks eligibility period which is from July 1, 2024, to September 1, 2025. For 2025 SUN Bucks, LEAs should communicate to families that they may submit an NSLP meal application (standard counting and claiming schools and P2 schools in their base year) or a UBA (CEP and P2 schools not in their base year) at any time from now until September 1, 2025. LEAs should process those forms on an ongoing basis and for students determined to be eligible, upload free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) records to EDCS throughout the year.

    Since the operational period goes through September 1, 2025, students enrolled in a California school for the first time in 2025–26 on or before September 1, 2025, may also be eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks, if they submit an NSLP meal application or UBA on or before September 1, 2025, and are determined eligible.

12. Where should LEAs direct parents and guardians with questions about the status of their child(ren)'s benefits, address changes, missing cards, etc.?

    LEAs should direct parents and guardians to contact the SUN Bucks helpline at 1-877-328-9677.

13. Where should LEAs send their SUN Bucks questions to?

    For LEA questions, please reach out to SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov. This email address is not for household inquiries about SUN Bucks. CDE staff do not have access to individual student data required to confirm eligibility for SUN Bucks. Family inquiries should be directed to the SUN Bucks helpline at 1-877-328-9677.

Contacts

For household questions, the CDSS has a customer service helpline: 877-328-9677. General information about SUN Bucks can be found at CDSS SUN Bucks web page .

For LEA questions only, please reach out to SummerEBT@cde.ca.gov. This email address is not for household inquiries about Summer EBT. 

For CALPADS questions, please send a ticket to calpads-support@cde.ca.gov.