HARRISBURG, Pa - Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro emphasized the importance of the year-round student nutrition and the state's participation in the SUN Bucks program in a Tuesday statement. This is the second year Pennsylvania has participated in SUN Bucks — a federally funded program that aims help eligible families purchase fresh food and groceries at retailers statewide.

"Just like Pennsylvania's universal free breakfast program during the school year, SUN Bucks reflects our commitment to ensuring every student has enough food to learn, grow, and thrive," Acting Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe said in a statement from the governor's office.

Gov. Shapiro plans to include a third consecutive year of funding for universal free school breakfast within his 2025-26 budget proposal, according the Tuesday statement.

Pennsylvania serves a total of 1.7 million students statewide and in 2024 the state provided more than 90 million breakfast meals.

The majority of Pennsylvania SUN Bucks recipients are automatically eligible and do not need to apply to the program; if families already have an EBT card, the summer benefits will be automatically loaded to the card. Any eligible families who do not have an EBT card will be mailed one for the summer.

Before completing an application, households can determine if their child is automatically eligible by using the Shapiro Administration's SUN Bucks Eligibility Navigator.

The deadline to apply for Summer 2025 is August 31. Any applications received after August 31 will be considered for SUN Bucks 2026.