CINCINNATI — For students who get free breakfast or lunch at school, getting a meal every day isn't always easy once classes let out for the year. Now, the USDA has a new program to make sure students aren't going hungry during summer break.
It's called SUN Bucks.
“We know that just because school lets out doesn't mean that hunger stops," said Kam Mckenzie, SNAP Outreach manager at Freestore Foodbank.
This is what SUN Bucks is working to address.
It's a problem Kaytlynd Lainhart, vice president of external relations for St. Vincent de Paul, has seen firsthand — both at the food pantry and in her own life.
“I’m actually one of eight kids myself and we got reduced lunches and that really did make things a little easier on my family during the school year, but when summer hits and you have to feed your kid breakfast and lunch and snacks and they’re hot and they’re hungry, it’s hard on a mom," she said.
Lainhart said St. Vincent de Paul is seeing more people coming to them for help. Freestore Foodbank said it's seeing the same thing.
Mckenzie said they're seeing 300 to 400 more people a day.
“We’re seeing families we’ve never seen before," she said. "These are individuals that this is their first time coming to a pantry."
SUN Bucks is just one option to help make sure people walk away with the food they need. It gives eligible families $120 per child for the summer months and it can be spent on groceries anywhere that accepts SNAP EBT benefits.
Kam McKenzie said SUN Bucks can give families money for up to 17 more meals.
Plus, they can still get free meals from summer meal programs at places like the library.
Here's who qualifies:
- Households that already participate in SNAP
- Households whose child attends a school that offers the National Lunch Program or School Breakfast Program and has a free or reduced-price lunch application filed
- Households whose child participates in Medicaid or OWF and household income is at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Line
You can find more information here.
