Summer is a time when many children may not have access to the free and reduced-price meals they get during the school year, and households might need a little extra help putting meals on the table. This year Pennsylvania will launch SUN Bucks, Pennsylvania’s Summer EBT program, a new grocery benefits program that provides households with a one-time payment of $120 for each eligible child to buy food while school is out. Benefits can be used at local participating retailers to purchase groceries.
Many children will get these benefits automatically, but some households will need to apply. The benefits will be added to an existing SNAP/TANF EBT card or a newly issued Summer EBT card.
Note: For the first year of this program, paper applications for children that are not automatically eligible will become available in July 2024. Benefits will be issued to all eligible children by October 2024.
Schools cannot assist families with Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefit questions. Schools cannot access the state’s Summer EBT/SUN Bucks system or records.
Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Resources for Families:
DHS and their County Assistance Offices offer family support for Summer EBT/SUN Bucks.
The DHS Summer EBT/SUN Bucks webpage for families can be found here:
http://www.dhs.pa.gov/SunBucks. This webpage provides information about the benefit, Frequently Asked Questions, the SUN Bucks family application, and an eligibility navigator tool to help families determine if they need to apply.
The Statewide Customer Service Center can be reached by phone at 1-877-395-8930, or 1-215-560-7226 in Philadelphia.
Note: DHS asks families not to call the County Assistance Offices or Statewide Customer Service lines regarding not receiving Summer EBT/SUN Bucks before the end of August 2024, when almost all the Summer EBT/SUN Bucks benefits for automatically eligible children have been issued.
SNAP, TANF, and Medical Assistance households that need to update their address with DHS should do so as soon as possible.