Virginia Sun Bucks

Virginia Sun Bucks Eligibility 

Virginia SUN Bucks Eligibility Overview

Parents/guardians who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Income-eligible Medicaid, or students placed in foster care are automatically eligible for Virginia SUN Bucks. Families of students attending Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools are not automatically eligible for Virginia SUN Bucks. Parents/guardians of students attending CEP schools who do not have eligibility through SNAP, TANF, or Income-eligible Medicaid may apply. To determine eligibility, navigate to the “Eligibility” page or click the “Do you need to apply for Virginia SUN Bucks?” button on the homepage.

Households that become income-eligible during the summer and households that submit meal applications at school can reference the new income eligibility guidelines effective July 1, 2024.

Application Process and Benefit Issuance

If a student does not meet one of the eligibility criteria above, but the family believes they would qualify based on income, the family must apply to receive Virginia SUN Bucks. The application closes on August 30, 2024.

Parents/guardians may apply by:

• Completing a paper application that can be downloaded from the website and mailed to:

Virginia SUN Bucks, c/o VDSS, 5600 Cox Road, Glen Allen, VA 23060

• Starting July 22, 2024: Contacting the Virginia SUN Bucks call center at 866-513-1414(toll-free) or 804-294-1633 on Monday-Friday, between 9:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. to complete a telephone application.

Families are required to have the student’s local student identification (ID) number to complete the application. Applications without the local student ID number will be considered incomplete and will not be approved.

The VDSS is accepting Virginia SUN Bucks applications only from students who are enrolled in a National School Lunch Program (NSLP) participating school and who are not automatically eligible through previous direct certification (listed above) or approved meal application.

Applications are processed and approved by the VDSS, not the local DSS agency or school. Benefits will be issued beginning August 2024 on a rolling basis to students who automatically qualify and to families who are eligible by application. Families might get their Virginia SUN Bucks benefits at different times depending on when they qualified or applied. Benefits will either be uploaded on a family’s existing SNAP electronic benefits transfer (EBT) card or a preloaded Virginia SUN Bucks card received by US Mail.

Virginia SUN Bucks Card FAQs

• How will cards be received?
  • Parents/Guardians will receive their Virginia SUN Bucks card in the US Mail with further instructions on how to activate and use it.
• Will parents with multiple children receive multiple cards?
  • If your family receives SNAP benefits, the Virginia SUN Bucks benefits will be loaded onto your existing SNAP EBT card. If you do not receive SNAP benefits, Virginia SUN Bucks benefits will be loaded onto one card for all eligible children in the household and sent via US Mail.
• What to do if a card is lost?
  • To replace a lost EBT or Virginia SUN Bucks card, call ConnectEBT customer service at 866-281-2448 (TTY-relay services for hearing/speech impaired at 800-828-1120) to cancel the lost card and request a new one.

For More Information

Parents/guardians and the public should visit the www.virginiasunbucks.com website for all questions regarding Virginia SUN Bucks

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.

Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USDA-OASCR%20P-Complaint-Form-0508-0002-508-11-28-17Fax2Mail.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:

1. mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or
2. fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
3. email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.