Biden-Harris Administration Makes History Launching New Suite of Summer Nutrition Programs to Help Tackle Hunger and Improve Healthy Eating for Millions of Children
2024年5月22日 - 5:18AM
ビジネスワイヤ(英語)
“SUN Programs” Include New Grocery Benefits,
In-Person Meals and To-Go Meals
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today the launch of
“SUN Programs: USDA’s Summer Nutrition Programs for Kids,” to help
improve nutrition security during the summer months. Through the
suite of SUN Programs, families now have more choices and
convenient ways to get summer nutrition support for their children
and teens with new SUN Bucks, SUN Meals, and previously launched
SUN Meals To-Go. Collectively, these programs continue the work of
the Biden-Harris Administration in promoting food and nutrition
security.
“Nearly 30 million children participate in USDA’s school
breakfast and lunch programs on an average school day, but when
school is out, kids lose access to those vital meals,” said
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “USDA’s SUN Programs offer more
options for families to conveniently access the essential nutrition
children need to thrive, learn, and grow during summer and
beyond.”
SUN Bucks, the new, evidence-based Summer Electronic
Benefits Transfer (Summer EBT) program, provides a grocery benefit
of $120 per eligible school-aged child this summer; the benefit
value will be adjusted annually for inflation and is higher outside
the contiguous 48 states. SUN Bucks helps families and caregivers
expand their summer grocery budget to buy foods that best fit their
family’s needs, cultural traditions and preferences. Research shows
that this type of summer grocery benefit can reduce child hunger in
the summer by 33% and also improve eating patterns with increased
whole grain, dairy, and fruit and vegetable consumption by children
in participating households.
This inaugural summer, many states, the District of Columbia,
all U.S. territories, and some tribal nations are partnering with
USDA to make SUN Bucks available in their communities. About 21
million children are expected to benefit from SUN Bucks this
summer.
In participating areas, SUN Bucks can be used at a variety of
grocery stores and other food retailers and are in addition to
other food benefits families may already receive, like the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Special
Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children
(WIC), and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations
(FDPIR). Families with eligible children currently receiving SNAP
and other benefits will automatically be enrolled in SUN Bucks;
others will need to apply each year.
In addition to the new grocery benefit, SUN Programs also
provide nutritious meal and snack services during the summer months
to kids 18 and under in communities and among populations with high
rates of poverty throughout the U.S.:
- SUN Meals are served at schools, parks, community
centers, and other neighborhood locations. This long-standing,
in-person summer meals program has been available in communities
since 1968. Meals are often provided along with enrichment
activities to support children’s healthy growth and
development.
- SUN Meals To-Go, launched in 2023, offers pick-up and
delivery options in some rural areas when and where SUN Meals are
not available.
“It’s heartening to see Congress’s bipartisan action to help
make sure no child goes hungry during the summer months,” said
Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small. “President
Biden’s investment in high-quality, nutritious school meals creates
healthier brighter futures for kids across America and USDA's SUN
Programs give families more ways than ever to support their kids’
nutritional needs."
These nutrition programs advance the goals of the Biden-Harris
Administration's national strategy to end hunger and reduce
diet-related disease by 2030 set forth at the historic White House
Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in September 2022.
To help families connect to services in their community, USDA’s
SUN Programs website, www.fns.usda.gov/summer, directs visitors to
local resources, including how to find a nearby SUN Meals site and
see if SUN Meals To-Go are available in their area. Information
will be updated throughout the summer. USDA’s SUN Programs website
also provides information on SUN Bucks and links visitors to the
states and jurisdictions offering the new grocery benefit. The site
is also available in Spanish at www.fns.usda.gov/verano.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many
positive ways. In the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is
transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more
resilient local and regional food production, ensuring access to
healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new
markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using
climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic
investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in
rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by
removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more
representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider,
employer, and lender.
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USDA Press, press@usda.gov