The US Department of Agriculture has launched a group of summer nutrition services for children, known as the SUN Programs, as part of an effort to combat food insecurity and malnutrition among students when they are typically out of school.
The SUN Programs—“SUN” being short for “summer nutrition”—include SUN Bucks, which provide $120 per eligible school-aged child in total for the purchase of groceries during the summer months.
The initiative also includes SUN Meals, which allows for any child aged 18 or under to visit a designated site in their community to eat free meals and snacks. In more rural areas where group meal sites are unavailable, families can pick up free summer meals for their children or have them delivered through the SUN Meals To-Go program.
To ensure that eligible families are aware of these potential benefits, schools can use the USDA’s outreach toolkit for sharing locations on social media that serve SUN Meals and informing families about SUN Bucks.