Bay Area parents just have a few days left to sign up for a new federal program that will provide funding to feed their children.
Like many parents, Diana Bacho found herself strapped for money this summer. with three girls at home and sometimes struggling to sort out daily meals. She noted that the kids would usually get free breakfast and lunch when they were at school.
“When kids are home, you spend more money. And then they stay home, eating all the time,” she said.
But Bacho found a little help. Because her family qualified for free school lunches, she was able to get $120 per child to help feed them this summer through a new federal program called “SUN Bucks.”
“It’s a very good program. I would like they keep the program because it helps a lot,” she said.
Even though children are starting to head back to school, there’s still time to apply for assistance. But the clock is ticking.
California's SUN Bucks program awards $120 per child to cover summer lunch expenses for families who qualify and they have until this Saturday to apply for a debit card. Recipients are encouraged to use that money for groceries before other CalFresh benefits because the cards expire after four months.
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“If a child is receiving CalFresh, CalWORKS, or Medi-Cal, cards were automatically mailed to them starting at the beginning of the summer. If they are not receiving one of those benefit programs but a household is still low income, they can fill out a school meals application at the front office of their school,” said Rachel Monaco with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley.
The California Association of Food Banks said the program is already helping families across the state and it will continue for summers to come.
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“And at the same time ,this stimulates the local economy. So it’s such a great win to make sure that families have the food on the table but then also for local grocery stores in our local economies,” said Itzúl Guiterrez, Senior Policy Advocate at the California Association of Food Bank.
Eligible families who sign up after August 31 won’t be able to get the benefits this year but they will receive SUN bucks cards next summer to help keep food on the table.
For more information visit, cdss.ca.gov.
