HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh encouraged eligible families who have not yet received their 2025 SUN Bucks benefit to apply online or by paper application by Aug. 31.

The federal Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, also known as SUN Bucks or Summer EBT, helps eligible families who qualify manage increased food costs during the summer months when their children don’t have access to free and reduced-price meals at school.

“I urge all Pennsylvania families who believe they are eligible for SUN Bucks and have not received a payment yet to use our Eligibility Navigator and apply online by the Aug. 31 deadline for Summer 2025 benefits,” said Arkoosh. “We are very excited to see that most eligible children have already received their funds through the automatic SUN Bucks payments, but we do not want a single child who is eligible for this program to not receive the money for food that they are entitled to.”

Families can use the Eligibility Navigator to see if their children are automatically eligible or if they need to take action to apply by the Aug. 31 deadline. SUN Bucks provides a one-time payment for households of $40 per summer month ($120 total) per eligible child. An estimated 1.3 million children in Pennsylvania qualify for this program which is paid for by federal funds.

Applications can be completed on the SUN Bucks website or a local County Assistance Offices. Applications received after Aug. 31st will be held and considered for 2026 SUN Bucks benefits that will be issued in Summer 2026.

If families already have an EBT card, SUN Bucks benefits will be automatically added to their card, if possible. Families who do not have an EBT card will receive a Summer EBT card in the mail.