SEBTC/Sun Bucks
Last Revised: November 6, 2025
- Issue Areas
- Health and well-being
- Outcomes
- Stable and healthy families
Program overview
Providing additional public benefits to address the summer meal gap: Low income families often face increased food insecurity when children don't have access to school meals during summer vacation. Sun Bucks (formerly called Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer for Children (SEBTC) or Summer EBT), is a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) program that offers a payment of $120 per eligible child in addition to regular Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits during the summer months when schools are not in session.
Eligibility and automatic enrollment: Children are eligible if their household participates in SNAP, WIC, TANF, or if they qualify for free or reduced-price school meals (in select states). Children who receive federal income-based benefits such as SNAP, WIC, or TANF are automatically enrolled. In some states, children receiving free or reduced price school meals and who meet certain income thresholds will also be automatically enrolled in Sun Bucks. For children who may otherwise be eligible based on their household income, applications are generally made available at schools towards the end of each school year.
Convenient benefit delivery and usage: Benefits are issued to a household’s existing SNAP account or a new account, accessible on a debit-like EBT card. In some states and territories, benefits may be automatically added to the household’s SNAP account without issuing a new card. This card can be used to buy groceries like fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and breads at grocery stores and other retailers that accept EBT. The benefit amount will be adjusted annually for inflation beginning in 2025.
- Strategies
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Improving access to healthy food
Multiple studies with rigorous designs demonstrate that Sun Bucks/SEBTC is a well-supported strategy for decreasing food insecurity and improving nutrition outcomes among recipients.
A 2017 randomized controlled trial found that Sun Bucks/SEBTC reduced food insecurity among children by 20% and that impacts were greater in households with 3 or more children.
Another 2017 randomized controlled trial demonstrated that children receiving $60 SEBTC benefits consumed 30% more whole grains per day than those not receiving the benefit, 8% more dairy, and ⅓ cup more of fruit or 100% fruit juice.
A 2016 randomized controlled trial found that SEBTC decreased the prevalence of the most severe food insecurity among children by one-third and increased household spending on groceries.
A 2013 randomized controlled trial found that SEBTC significantly reduced the number of children experiencing very low food security by 3.1 percentage points
Maximizing the summer operational period: States determine when Sun Bucks start and end. In some states, local school districts may have different start and end dates for summer vacation. In order to cover as many children on summer break as possible, the start of the program should align with when the earliest schools are getting out and the end of the period should align with when the latest schools are returning.
Adapting practices from Pandemic EBT: Pandemic EBT operated from 2021 to 2023 and included a summer component similar to Sun Bucks but featured necessary technology and administrative updates in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Several implementation practices from Pandemic EBT such as application systems, benefit delivery, and case management can be adapted to Summer EBT with slight modifications.
Engaging eligible families through schools: Agencies operating Sun Bucks should plan for early, proactive outreach to families in partnership with schools clarifying who is eligible for automatic enrollment, what the requirements are, and how families can apply if not automatically enrolled. Early and proactive outreach helps avoid a backlog in application processing right before the start of the summer. Partnering with schools helps raise awareness of the program at a common and trusted location for both students and parents.
Securing state funding for Sun Bucks administration: States are required by law to provide fifty percent of the administrative costs for Sun Bucks (the food benefits are 100 percent federal funds). To ensure effective service delivery, states should identify the administrative costs for operating the program and ensure the funds are available in existing agency budgets.
Tracking and reporting data for Sun Bucks: To better measure the program’s effectiveness and track participant numbers, the USDA requires agencies issuing Sun Bucks to report monthly users separately from other USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) program data such as regular SNAP benefits usage.