Louisiana SUN Bucks: How to apply, do you qualify and when they will go out

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — The SUN Bucks program is returning this summer for children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals, according to the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Those who qualify will receive a $120 summer grocery benefit all at once.

“Most eligible children will be automatically enrolled and do not need to apply,” said Sammy Guillory, Assistant Secretary for Family Support at DCFS. “Last year, of the nearly 670,000 Louisiana children who received over $80 million in SUN Bucks benefits, only about 1,500 were determined eligible through the application process. The rest were already automatically enrolled.”

Those who receive benefits have 122 days to use them from the date they are issued, or they will lose them, DCFS said.

Families of children who may receive these benefits are encouraged to make sure their addresses are up-to-date with various programs, including the Kinship Care Subsidy Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, income-based Medicaid, the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program, and the child’s foster care case or school. Doing so will prevent delays in receiving benefits, DCFS said.

Families who do not have an EBT card or Sun Bucks card can call 1-888-997-1117 and ask for a new one.

If a child is automatically enrolled, families should start to receive SUN Bucks during the second half of May, DCFS said.

Benefits will continue throughout the summer months as applications are approved or a child’s family begins receiving SNAP, FITAP, KCSP, or income-based Medicaid benefits.

DCFS stated that to be eligible for SUN Bucks, the child must have been born between Aug. 8, 2006, and July 1, 2019, and received benefits including SNAP, FITAP, KCSP, or income-based Medicaid between July 1, 2024, and Aug. 8, 2024.

That is not the only way a child could be eligible for these benefits.

In addition, children who applied and were individually approved to receive free or reduced-price school meals through the National School Lunch Program may be eligible for SUN Bucks.

If a child goes to a Community Eligibility Provision school but did not get SNAP, FITAP, KCSP, or income-based Medicaid, or finish an NSLP application, they will need to apply to see if they are eligible.

Other children may be eligible based on household income.

SUN Bucks benefits will be received on an existing EBT card if families are enrolled or have been before.

New participants signing up for the first time will get a new, preloaded EBT card in the mail.

Families who received SUN Bucks on a card last year will receive them on the same card this year.

If a SUN Bucks or EBT card is lost, there are multiple ways to get a new one:

• Call 1-888-997-1117
• Log in to the CAFE system
• Visit this website, or
• Use the LifeInCheck EBT mobile app

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