A New Summer Food Program for Kids!
SUN Bucks is a new permanent program that helps families with school-age children buy groceries during the summer when kids might not have access to school meals.
A federal law called the Consolidated Appropriations Act passed in December 2022 to create SUN Bucks across the country. California passed a law in July 2023 to join the program. The California Department of Social Services is the lead agency implementing the program, in partnership with the California Department of Education.
For summer 2024, the state will automatically enroll about 5 million eligible children based on existing school and social services data. Most children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals through a school meal application or an Alternative Income Form, or get CalFresh, CalWORKs, and/or Medi-Cal, are automatically enrolled. For more information, please visit the link below or contact the SUN Bucks helpline at (877) 328-9677 to see if you qualify.
https://www.cdss.ca.gov/sun-bucks
Be sure to fill out your Parent Data Confirmation Survey online through your Aeries parent portal to see if you are eligible. Students are not automatically eligible for SUN Bucks, unless a student is migrant, homeless, foster, or directly certified through participation in CalFresh, CalWORKS , or Medi-Cal. You can also print and complete a UBA form (Univeral Benefits Application) and submit to your students District Office. For eligibility requirements please click the link above.
Universal Benefits Application
https://aeries.excelsior.com/student/LoginParent.aspx