SUN Bucks 2025 Application

SUN Bucks is an income-based food assistance program. You can check if your household is income eligible by clicking here.

To check if your child is eligible for SUN Bucks benefits, you can take the interactive eligibility quiz by going to the chat bot icon in the bottom right-hand corner of this page. Select your language, then click “Take Eligibility Quiz.”

If your child is enrolled in a NSLP school (check your school HERE) for the 2024-2025 school year and meets one of the scenarios below, they are automatically eligible for SUN Bucks and do not need to submit an application:

• Child completed a SUN Bucks application between July 1, 2024 - August 31, 2024, and was approved. You do not need to complete another application for summer 2025, so long as the child is still enrolled in a NSLP/CEP participating school.
• Your child gets Free or Reduced-Price meals through the child’s school.
  • Important: This does not apply for children in schools where all students get free meals (i.e. CEP schools), however, they could be automatically eligible if they participate in any of the programs listed in the section below (any age).

OR

If your child’s date of birth is between 7/2/2007 to 8/31/2018, and they participate in at least one of the programs below, they do not need to submit an application as they are automatically eligible to receive SUN Bucks:

• Food and Nutrition Services (FNS, food stamps), or
• Work First (cash assistance), or  
• Medicaid and has a household income of less than 185% of the federal poverty level, or
• Cherokee Tribal Food Distribution Program (CTFDP), or
• Child is in Foster Care, or
• Child is enrolled in the McKinney-Vento program (experiencing homelessness or runaway)

Many students will automatically be approved for SUN Bucks without families having to do anything. You can apply as long as your child attends a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) or is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) school and has a household income of less than 185% of the federal poverty level.. You can check to see if your child’s school is NSLP or CEP using the SUN Bucks School Search Tool.

To apply, visit the 2025 SUN Bucks application, and agree to the terms of use to get started.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federal program that operates in most public schools, some charter schools, and a few private nonprofit schools. As part of this program, children who are part of households that meet income criteria can get free or low-cost meals at school. Since 2023, NC students who qualify for reduced-price school breakfast and lunch also receive them at no cost thanks to state funding. Contact your child’s school for more information and to apply.

Some NSLP schools are called Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools. These are schools that provide meals to all students at no cost without needing to submit an application. To check if your child’s school was an NSLP or CEP school for the most recent school year, visit the SUN Bucks School Search Tool.

Some schools use different programs to provide students with meals at no cost. These programs are not the same as the NSLP or CEP meal programs. 

To check if your child(ren) automatically qualify or if they should apply, take the interactive eligibility quiz by going to the chat bot icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the SUN Bucks webpage. Select your language, then go to “Take Eligibility Quiz.”

During April and May, eligible families will receive an email, text, or phone call that they are automatically qualified for SUN Bucks and do not have to apply for SUN Bucks. Additionally, families that are not automatically qualified will receive an email, text or phone call in June with an invitation to apply.

Go to “Does my child qualify for SUN Bucks?”  to learn more about eligibility for SUN Bucks benefits.

To apply in Spanish, visit the 2025 SUN Bucks application, go to the circular icon on the top right of the page and select “Spanish.” After accepting the terms of use, the application can be started.

Yes, you can request an application be mailed or emailed to you in two ways:

1. Email DCFW.SunBucks@dhhs.nc.gov, or
2. Call the North Carolina EBT Call Center at 1-866-719-0141, select your language, and SELECT OPTION 2 to speak with a SUN Bucks customer service representative.

Families should only apply for SUN Bucks in the state where their child finished the school year.

You should fill out one single application and include all the children in your household to make sure that your household income is calculated accurately.

Important: A household may have a child who needs to apply and a child who automatically qualifies based on their school enrollment and whether they meet the automatic eligibility criteria. You will not need to apply for a child who automatically qualifies for SUN Bucks, but you MUST still include them as part of your household. If you are uncertain if a child automatically qualifies, you can apply for them. If they do automatically qualify, you will be notified.

If you're submitting a SUN Bucks application, you can either write in the best address you have or say that you don’t have a stable address. If you don’t have a stable address, the SUN Bucks card will automatically be mailed to the Department of Social Services (DSS) office in the county where the student’s school is located.  You can also write in the address of a different DSS office that you’d like the card to be sent for you to pick up. In your application, remember to provide a valid email address and phone number so you can be contacted

Yes, if you have a child in foster care placed in your home through court order and they are enrolled in an NSLP or CEP school, please include the foster child in your application to be certain the child’s enrollment in SUN Bucks is not missed.

The student’s ID number is strongly encouraged to aid in the school enrollment verification and application processing, but it is not required to submit an application.

Student IDs can be found on most student report cards, ID cards, and on the parent portal. If you cannot find your child’s student ID, please contact the child’s school.

Case numbers are typically listed on the original approval letter for the applicable program. If you no longer have your program approval letter, please contact your caseworker at your DSS office for assistance.

SUN Bucks is an income-based program. NCDHHS needs to know the gross income for everyone in the household to confirm that the household’s income is within the threshold limits to qualify. Gross income is the amount of income received from all sources BEFORE taxes or other deductions are taken out.

A household is defined as a group of people, related or unrelated, that usually live together and share income and expenses. Income for all household members must be reported in the application. If a child in the household has a source of income, their income should also be included in the application.

Applicants will receive email communications from NCDHHS stating whether your application is approved or denied starting in March 2025. In your application, remember to provide a valid email address and phone number so you can be contacted, and an address for mailing your card if you are approved.

If you need to change your address after you submit your application, call the North Carolina EBT Call Center at 1-866-719-0141, select your language, and SELECT OPTION 2 to speak with a SUN Bucks customer service representative.

If your situation has changed or you didn’t include relevant information you believe may impact your application decision, you can reapply.

If you have questions about your denial, please call the North Carolina EBT Call Center at 1-866-719-0141, select your language, and SELECT OPTION 2  to speak with a SUN Bucks customer service representative.