Summer EBT, which is also known as SUN Bucks, is a new program that provides funds for households with school-aged children to purchase food during the summer.

The Department of Human Services is partnering with the Department of Education to implement this program and the application period opened Friday.

Many families rely on school meals for their keiki to be fed, and the summer months can represent a gap in those meals for many. SUN Bucks aims to help fill that gap for families. Households will receive a lump sum of $177 for each qualifying child, to be spent during the summer months. The benefit is meant to assist with groceries for the entire summer, and can be used anywhere EBT benefits are accepted. Eligibility for the program is established each year.

“Families who rely on healthy school breakfast and lunch for their children often have a difficult time accessing healthy food during the summer,” said First Lady Jaime Kanani Green. “The SUN Bucks program provides meaningful action to tackle childhood hunger and to help our keiki to play, learn, grow and be healthy during the summer months.”

DHS Director Ryan Yamane shared, “We thank the leadership of First Lady Green for her support of this vital program to feeding our keiki. This summer nutrition program in collaboration with the DOE will help feed more than 100,000 of our school-aged children across our state.”

School-aged keiki are automatically qualified for the program 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.

Households that would need to fill out an application (starting July 5, through Aug. 4) if:

• The household has children attend a school operation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) where all meals are free to all students, who do 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.

For those households with children who automatically qualify, a SUN Bucks EBT card with the $177 already loaded will be mailed out starting July 16 via USPS to the mailing address listed on the child’s school records, or per their SNAP or TANF case. Contact the SUN Bucks Customer Service at 1-888-975-SEBT (7328) to report a change in address. Allow one to two weeks for delivery of the SUN Bucks EBT card.

Cards for households that apply and are found to qualify will be mailed out starting July 17 and thereafter the next business day after eligibility is determined, through Aug. 4. Allow one to two weeks for delivery.

SUN Bucks expire 122 days after the date benefits are issued; once expired, they cannot be reloaded. For a list of of SNAP-eligible foods, see fns.usda.gov/snap/eligible-food-items. SUN Bucks can also be used with Da Bux program.

Visit sunbucks.dhs.hawaii.gov to apply. Call 1-888-975-SEBT (7328), with any questions. 

Lianne Bidal Thompson is the digital producer for Spectrum News Hawaii. She writes about community and general news.