School’s out and it’s time for Sun Meals, formerly known as the Summer Food Service Program. “Summer should be an exciting time for children to enjoy time with friends, engage in sports, or spend time at a pool. But for children who receive free and reduced-price meals at school, summer can mean hunger. Just like learning should not end when school lets out, neither should a child’s need for good nutrition”, Suzanne Saggese, Community Nutrition Program Specialist at OSU Extension, Lucas County.
Throughout the state, all children ages 1 through 18 are eligible to receive free meals during the summer months at participating program sites. Individuals ages 19 through 21, following Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) through their current enrollment in educational programs also are eligible for free summer meals.
Depending on your location, you can find a site convenient to you. In some communities you will find meal sites at locations such as libraries, community centers, schools, parks, houses of worship, etc. The location will determine if kids must eat the meal on-site. In some rural areas, families have the option to pick up to-go meals. For more information call 1-866-348-6479 or visit this map of Ohio to find your closest site.
In addition, to help kids have access to nutritious food to grow healthy and strong, Ohio is offering the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer Program for Children (Summer EBT or SUN Bucks). This benefit provides families $120 per eligible school-aged child, to help stretch the grocery budget and buy more of the foods that children love! Any family that had an approved free or reduced lunch application during the past school year is eligible to receive SUN Bucks. This is automatically added to an Ohio Direction EBT card for SNAP recipients. Benefits are distributed in increments of $40 through summer months (June, July, August) for food/groceries per child.
SUN Bucks is designed to work together with other benefits families may already get, like SNAP and WIC, and all children can still enjoy free SUN Meals at local meal sites, too. Many families will get SUN Bucks automatically if they are getting other benefits, but some families may need to apply for the program. For families who need to apply, please contact your local county job and family services agency or this site to help with questions.
