Arizona families can receive up to $120 per child to purchase groceries as part of a new federal program, state officials said Monday.
Backed by federal funds, the new SUN Bucks program — managed by the Arizona Department of Education and
the Arizona Department of Economic Security — will allow low-income households to purchase nutritious food during the summer months.
The SUN Bucks program was created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service to support eligible households. Each participating state must submit a plan to the USDA for
approval, and Arizona’s plan was approved in May, officials said.
Officials said DES began issuing the first set of funds to nearly 288,000 children in Arizona already receiving some form of cash or nutrition assistance, and as many as 605,000 children could benefit from the program this summer.
“We know that
food hardship rises during the summer for households with school-age
children and that such hardship, even if short-lived, can negatively
impact a child’s long-term health and well-being” said Angie Rodgers,
the head of DES. “Programs such as SUN Bucks play an important role in addressing food insecurity and
connecting children across the state with meals during the summer.”
“Good nutrition is essential to support the health and development
of all students,” said Tom Horne, the state superintendent. “We are working with the USDA and DES to bring this
federal grocery benefits program to Arizona, which is projected to
provide additional assistance to over 600,000 students who might not
otherwise have the meals they need this summer.”
Families who are eligible for free or reduced lunches during the school year, as well as families who have received other nutrition, cash of medical assistance benefits since last July can apply for SUN Bucks, officials said.
Officials cautioned that families who receive medical assistance must be significantly below the federal poverty level to receive help.
Arizona is among dozens of states either participating or planning to participate in the federal program. Only 11 states, including Texas and Florida, have yet to participate in the program.
Arizona officials said the benefits will be issued to families over the weekend, and funds will be placed in EBT cards, alongside other nutritional or cash assistance programs. Families who do not already have an EBT card, but are participating these programs will receive a new EBT card in mid-July 2024.
Arizona education officials will also launch new applications for families who have not already sought free or reduced-price meals.
Summer nutrition programs help to mitigate food insecurity for families when millions of low-income children lose access to breakfasts, lunches and after-school snacks offered during the regular school year, according to the Food Research & Action Center. Summer nutrition programs “help fill this gap by providing free meals and snacks to children who might otherwise go hungry.”
In 2022, almost 3 million children received a lunch and around 1.8 million received a breakfast under such programs, FRAC said.
Tucson Unified School District is also offering free meals for kids during the summer. Breakfast and lunch is free to any children 18 and under at most TUSD schools, including middle schools and high schools. Earlier this year, TUSD expanded its free breakfast and lunch programs across 87 schools as part of a Biden administration effort.
This article was originally published by a www.tucsonsentinel.com . Read the Original article here. .