Department of Human Services

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2025

HONOLULU  ̶  The Department of Human Services (DHS) is announcing the return of the SUN Bucks program for Summer 2025. Online application is now open. DHS is disbursing this benefit and working with the Hawai‘i Department of Education (DOE) to implement the SUN Bucks program for school-aged children this coming summer.

Summer EBT, also called SUN Bucks, is a program that started in Summer 2024 to provide benefits to households with school-aged children to purchase food during the summer. Households will receive $177 for each qualifying child, to be spent during the summer months. Eligibility must be established annually.

First Lady Jaime Kanani Green shared,
“Access to nutritious meals shouldn’t end when school lets out. For many families, summer can be a challenging time to ensure their children eat well. The SUN Bucks program continues to be a powerful tool in our efforts to fight childhood hunger and ensure our keiki have what they need to thrive—while they’re playing, learning and growing throughout the summer months.”

DHS Director Ryan Yamane stated,
“We are grateful for First Lady Green’s continued leadership in supporting this critical effort. Through our partnership with the Department of Education, the SUN Bucks program will again help provide healthy meals to more than 100,000 school-aged children statewide—ensuring no child goes hungry during the summer.”

Who automatically qualifies for SUN Bucks (no application required)?
School-aged children are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks if:

• The child was in a household that participated in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in any month from July 1, 2024, through August 3, 2025; or
• The child has been identified as a ward of the state (foster child), or identified by their school as homeless, migrant, or runaway; or
• The child attended a school that offers the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), and the household applied for and was approved for free or reduced-price school meals.
• Exceptions to the school-aged requirement are Head Start and/or other pre-K students that attended a program that participated in the NSLP at their NSLP participating school.

Who needs to complete a SUN Bucks application?
The following households would need to complete a SUN Bucks application starting April 1, 2025, through August 3, 2025:

Households with children attending a school operating the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) where all meals are free to all students, who did not apply for or was not approved for free or reduced-price school meals and who have household income that falls at or below the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines.

Households with children attending a school operating NSLP who were not approved for free or reduced-price meals during the school year but may be eligible now because their household income falls at or below the limits of the Federal Income Eligibility Guidelines click here for more information and the full FAQs.

*NOTE:  Households that applied for and were determined eligible for, Summer 2024 during the period of July 1, 2024, through August 4, 2024, do not need to submit an application for Summer 2025. The same Summer 2024 application will be used to determine eligibility for Summer 2025.

Visit sunbucks.dhs.hawaii.gov to begin the online application process or need to download the paper application. Contact the SUN Bucks Customer Service toll-free at 1-888-975-SEBT(7328) if you have any questions about the online application process.

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Media Contact:
Amanda Stevens
Public Information Officer
Department of Human Services
[email protected]