SUN Bucks (Summer EBT)

Background

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L 117-328) (PDF) authorized a new permanent, nationwide Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (S-EBT) Program, also known as SUN Bucks, 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 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.

Thus far, California has provided approximately $642,600,000 in food benefits to nearly 5.4 million children throughout the state.

Eligibility

For most eligible children, enrollment in SUN Bucks 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).

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 that year’s summer operational period for free or reduced-price meals through NSLP meal application, Alternative Income Form (AIF), 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 in CALPADS. 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 Federal Poverty Level).

Children determined eligible for SUN Bucks benefits through CALPADS must be FRPM eligible through an NSLP meal application or AIF or considered categorically eligible based on migrant or homeless status, enrollment in a Head Start program, or a foster youth and attending an NSLP/SBP participating school. For FRPM eligible migrant, homeless, or foster students, LEAs must submit a 181, 182, 135, or 191 education program record to CALPADS. LEAs must keep their CALPADS records up to date to ensure timely SUN Bucks issuance to students.

Private schools in California do not have access to CALPADS. For information on private school FRPM records, see the FAQs 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 Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools were automatically eligible for P-EBT. This is not the case for SUN Bucks, which requires annual individual eligibility determination 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, the Adoption Assistance Program, or are in Foster Care may be enrolled in Medi-Cal but they may not meet the 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level threshold to be eligible for SUN Bucks. Children that fall into this category may need to submit an NSLP meal application or an AIF with their LEA to determine their eligibility for SUN Bucks.

• In California, the Universal Meals Program (UMP) provides school meals at no cost to all school age children, regardless of their FRPM eligibility. Some UMP participants may not be certified at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level and may need to submit a school NSLP meal application or an AIF to their LEA to determine their eligibility for SUN Bucks.

Application

The eligibility period for summer 2024 SUN Bucks ended on August 31, 2024. However, the eligibility period for summer 2025 began on July 1, 2024, and goes through August 31, 2025.

LEAs are encouraged to make the 2024–25 National School Lunch Program/School Breakfast Program meal application or a SUN Bucks compliant Alternative Income Form (AIF) available to households and to continually make eligibility determinations and routinely update the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS), so that students will receive their summer 2025 SUN Bucks timely. Provision schools may accept AIFs during the year from continuing students regardless of whether it is the LEA’s Local Control Funding Formula base year.

The CDE is currently developing a fully compliant SUN Bucks income application for LEAs to utilize beginning in School Year 2025–26. The SUN Bucks application will be announced and posted to this web page when available.

Best Practices

Below are suggested SUN Bucks best practices for LEAs.

Enabling families to establish SUN Bucks eligibility throughout the operational period

LEAs submit the necessary eligibility data for most students who will qualify for 2025 SUN Bucks by their Fall 1 submission to the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS). This will generally include data submitted for students enrolled on Census Day, which represents most students enrolled in 2024–25.

Students may become eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks at any point during the school year and during the first months of the next school year up until August 31, 2025. This means, throughout the eligibility period (July 1, 2024–August 31, 2025), LEAs should:

• Collect National School Lunch Program (NSLP) meal applications and Alternative Income Forms (AIF) from families and upload any resulting free or reduced-price meal records to CALPADS as soon as the determination is made.

If this data is updated in CALPADS throughout the year, most students will be included in the first data pull in April 2025, and will receive benefits in the first card issuance for summer 2025 SUN Bucks.

Note: SUN Bucks cards are mailed to the address uploaded to 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.

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), students at Provision schools must submit an AIF to determine whether they are eligible for SUN Bucks benefits.

If an LEA evaluates the AIF and determines the student meets the income requirements for being included as an Unduplicated Pupil for Local Control Funding Formula purposes, then the student is eligible for SUN Bucks benefits.

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 an 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 Federal Poverty Level), the student must submit an AIF or NSLP meal application.

• Submission of an AIF or NSLP meal application does not 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.

• If eligible based on an NSLP meal application or AIF submitted after August 31, 2024, families should not expect to receive benefits until summer 2025.

The CDE encourages LEAs to notify families of AIF determinations so that families know whether to expect SUN Bucks benefits.

Resources

CDE

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

CDSS

• Webpage
• 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 2024 SUN Bucks?

   July 1, 2023, through August 31, 2024.

3. What is the eligibility period for 2025 SUN Bucks?

   July 1, 2024, through August 31, 2025.

4. Is there overlap in the eligibility periods for 2024 and 2025 SUN Bucks?

   Yes, because the eligibility periods for 2024 and 2025 SUN Bucks overlap for the months of July and August 2024, students identified as eligible for SUN Bucks between July 1, 2024, and August 31, 2024, will receive both summer 2024 and 2025 SUN Bucks benefits. Students identified as eligible after August 31, 2024, will only be eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks benefits.

5. 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).

   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 that year’s summer operational period for free or reduced-price meals (FRPM) through NSLP meal application, Alternative Income Form (AIF), local direct certification, or designation as homeless, migrant, or foster.

   Eligibility for SUN Bucks benefits are automatically determined by the CDSS using data from the CalSAWS and FRPM eligibility records in CALPADS. 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 Federal Poverty Level). Children determined eligible for SUN Bucks benefits through CALPADS must be FRPM eligible through an NSLP meal application or AIF, or categorically eligible based on their designation as migrant or homeless, enrollment in a Head Start program, or a foster youth and attending an NSLP/SBP participating school. For FRPM eligible migrant, homeless, or foster students, LEAs must submit a 181, 182, 135, or 191 education program record to CALPADS. LEAs must keep their CALPADS records up to date to ensure timely SUN Bucks issuance to students.

   For private school FRPM records, see question #13.

6. Will categorically eligible students automatically receive SUN Bucks?

   Students who are identified as enrolled in a Head Start program, experiencing homelessness, living in foster care, or are part of a migrant family and attended an NSLP/SBP participating school at any point during that year’s SUN Bucks eligibility period are considered categorically eligible for SUN Bucks and will receive benefits. Students enrolled in a Head Start program, experience homelessness, live in foster care, or are part of a migrant family and do not attend an NSLP/SBP participating school are not eligible for SUN Bucks benefits.

7. How can students apply for 2025 SUN Bucks benefits?

   The eligibility period for 2025 SUN Bucks began on July 1, 2024, and ends on August 31, 2025. LEAs are encouraged to make the 2024–25 NSLP meal application or AIF available to households and to continually make eligibility determinations and routinely update CALPADS, so that students will receive their summer 2025 SUN Bucks benefits timely.

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

   Federal regulations governing the NSLP/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. These requirements do not exist for AIFs. CDE strongly recommends informing families of whether AIFs resulted in FRPM eligibility for students. It is important that families are made aware of whether they qualify for FRPM/SUN Bucks, so they know whether or not to expect the benefit and can take the proper steps to follow up if the benefit is not received.

9. 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 between July 1, 2024, and August 31, 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 an AIF during both base and non-base years. 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 NSLP application during base years and AIFs during non-base years. SUN Bucks has different requirements from Pandemic EBT where all children in special provision schools were eligible for benefits.

10. How do CEP and Provision schools and/or districts identify students eligible for SUN Bucks during non-base years?

    LEAs who participate in CEP should continue to make SUN Bucks compliant AIFs available to families throughout the year for purposes of SUN Bucks eligibility determinations. This means that CEP LEAs may accept AIFs 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 AIFs available to families throughout non-base years and should make NSLP meal applications available throughout their base years.

11. If LEAs collect and process applications that are used for SUN Bucks eligibility and they participate in CEP/Provision 2, are they violating CEP/P2 program regulations?

    No. The NSLP and 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 applications do not apply to LEA activity in processing applications or AIFs as they relate to SUN Bucks. This is because LEAs that have been delegated to process SUN Bucks applications or AIFs for SUN Bucks determinations are not developing, conducting, or funding this effort under the NSLP or SBP. In these cases, it must be clearly communicated to families of children attending a CEP school that they will receive free school meals even if they do not submit an AIF.

12. Can children enrolled at an NSLP/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 and complete an NSLP meal application or an AIF. These students must have a Statewide Student Identifier, and the LEA must submit their enrollments to 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 Federal Poverty Level) are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks through CalSAWS data [7 CFR 292.2 “School aged” ; 7 CFR 292.6 ]. Children who are directly certified and fall within the compulsory school attendance age range do not also need to be enrolled in an NSLP/SBP participating school to receive SUN Bucks.

13. How can private schools participate in SUN Bucks?

    Private schools do not report student eligibility information in 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.

14. 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 CALPADS during the 2024–25 school year. LEAs will submit most of the data used to identify students eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks as part of the 2024 Fall 1 Submission to CALPADS. The Fall 1 Submission is when LEAs upload all students enrolled on Census Day, and indicates whether those students are FRPM eligible, homeless, migrant, or foster. LEAs can submit these student FRPM records for any NSLP meal application or AIF received by October 31, 2024.

    Students, however, may become eligible at any time during the 2025 SUN Bucks operational period which is from July 1, 2024, to August 31, 2025. LEAs should communicate to families that they may submit an NSLP meal application or AIF at any time from now until August 31, 2025. LEAs should process those forms on an ongoing basis and for students determined to be eligible, upload FRPM records to CALPADS throughout the year. Doing this on an ongoing basis will prevent a heavier workload in the summer.

    Since the operational period goes through August 31, 2025, students enrolled in a California school for the first time in 2025–26 on or before August 31, 2025, may also be eligible for 2025 SUN Bucks, if they submit an NSLP meal application or SUN Bucks compliant AIF on or before August 31, 2025, and are determined eligible.

15. 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.

16. Where should LEAs direct additional 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 https://www.cdss.ca.gov/sun-bucks .

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.