How a new federal-state program could help more kids avoid hunger this summer
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The application process is now open for SUN Bucks.
The federal-state program gives families in need a one-time payment of $120 for each schoolchild to buy food at the grocery store. Indiana launched its program in April.
Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director at Feeding Indiana’s Hungry, said, “We tried for years to meet kids where they are and help families in a way that’s meaningful.”
In Indiana, 1 in 5 kids face hunger, says Feeding America, and experts said summertime is when kids often go without food. Schools, closed for the summer, are where students usually get consistent meals.
Marisa Kirk-Epstein, senior director of research policy at No Kid Hungry, said of SUN Bucks, “A lot of kids receive meals at school, and this is intended to replace the loss of those meals.”
Eligible families participate in one or a combination of these aid efforts: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), income-based Medicaid, or their household meets requirement for free or reduced-price school meals.
SUN Bucks money is distributed through a card sometimes called Summer EBT (electronic benefit transfer). Bryant said that the SUN Bucks are “$120 on an EBT card families can use in more than 5,000 SNAP-approved retailers throughout the state.”
The SUN Bucks card can be mailed to homes, and be used in grocery stores or farmers’ markets to purchase foods including fruits and vegetables.
Experts say the new program will give families flexibility, and will access more families, especially ones in which children might be unable to travel to facilities that provide free summer meals for kids.
Kirk-Epstein said, “A lot of kids are either at the home or don’t have transportation to these meal sites, so as a result they haven’t been able to reach the kids who need them.”
Traditionally, students ate summer meals at various locations in person. That’s still available, along with to-go meals, but SUN Bucks cards can allow families to access food in nearby stores and cook at home.
The traditional meal programs at various locations reached just 3 million kids nationwide. Kirk-Epstein said of SUN Bucks, “It has the potential to feed 21 million kids across the country.”