Summer Food Benefits Available For Children
Many kids in Montana are eligible to receive financial benefits this summer to access healthy food through grocery purchases.
Montana is among 39 states administering the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program, known in Montana as “SUN Bucks,” which offers families a onetime financial benefit of $120 for each eligible child to be used on groceries during the summer.
Montana Department of Health and Human Services administers the program, and said last year approximately 67,000 children participated in the program.
A department spokesperson said benefits are expected to start going out in the next weeks, and the funds are available to use for 120 days after the EBT cards are issued.
Children who receive free or reduced-price school meals, participate in Medicaid, and those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program, are automatically qualified for SUN Bucks and will receive a Montana EBT card that can be used at grocery stores, farmers markets and other locations that display the SNAP logo and have signs such as “EBT accepted here.”
Other automatically qualifying criteria include children in foster care, in a migrant education program, or experiencing homelessness.
To check if your child is eligible, use the online SUN Bucks tool. To apply for Montana’s SUN Bucks program, there is an online form through DPHHS. For questions about SUN Bucks in Montana, visit the Montana Department of Health and Human Services website or email SUNBucks@mt.gov. Montana’s back-and-forth
The federal government launched the Summer EBT program in 2024, and Montana became one of the first states that participated in the program.
But that decision was a 180-degree change from a previous state decision to not accept similar funds in 2023 — $10 million — through a federal Pandemic EBT program, citing administrative costs.
During the 2025 Legislature, a budget subcommittee initially voted along party lines to cut out federal funding for a summer lunch program, but the funds were ultimately restored to the final budget.
