Frequently Asked Questions
About Ohio’s Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Program
Some children will automatically receive Summer EBT funds based on their participation in other programs. Other children are also eligible to receive Summer EBT funds but will need to complete an application to receive funds.
If your household participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds on your existing Ohio Direction Card.
If your child has been approved for free school meals based on your household’s income, your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds. If your child participates in Ohio Works First (OWF/cash assistance), your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
If your child does not participate in SNAP or OWF and did not directly apply for free school meals based on your household income, but is covered by Medicaid/CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), your household may automatically receive Summer EBT funds. Whether you automatically receive Summer EBT funds will depend on if your income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid. If your income was higher then, but has changed since, you may still be eligible and can fill out an application.
If none of the above apply to your child, your child may qualify to receive Summer EBT based on your household’s income, but you will need to complete an application for Summer EBT. Please know that if your child receives free school meals because every student in your child’s school receives free school meals under the Community Eligibility Option (CEO), they will not be automatically enrolled for Summer EBT unless they participate in other programs listed above. To be eligible, your household must have income below 185 percent of the federal poverty level and your child must attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program – you can check if your school participates here.
In summer 2024, each eligible child will receive a one-time payment of $120 in Summer EBT funds. This amount may go up in future summers depending on cost of living adjustments.
Children in households participating in SNAP will receive funds on the existing Ohio Direction Card where your SNAP/OWF funds are loaded. Spend your Summer EBT funds just like SNAP.
Children in households participating in Ohio Works First (OWF) but not SNAP will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Children that do not participate in SNAP but have directly applied for and been approved for free school meals at a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, based on your household’s income, will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Children in income-eligible households participating in Medicaid but not SNAP, OWF, or free school meals based on household income will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Eligible children that need to apply for Summer EBT because they do not fall into any of the above categories will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Many children do NOT need to apply for Summer EBT. If any of the following apply to your child, you do NOT need to apply for Summer EBT:
- Your household participates in SNAP (food stamps)
- Your household participates in Ohio Works First (OWF/cash assistance)
- Your household participates in Medicaid/CHIP and your household income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid
- Your child has already applied and been approved for free school meals based on your household’s income
If none of those apply to you, then you will need to apply for Summer EBT. Your child(ren) are eligible for Summer EBT if:
- They attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, and
- Your household income is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level
You can confirm that your child’s school participates in the National School Lunch Program here.
You can check whether your household income makes your child eligible here.
If you need to apply, you can complete a Summer EBT application here.
Eligibility
Any child in a household that participates in SNAP is eligible and will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that has directly applied for free school meals and been approved based on their household’s income is eligible and will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that participates in Medicaid and lives in a household with income that was under 185 percent of the federal poverty level when they applied for Medicaid will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that does not meet any of the above categories but attends a school participating in the National School Lunch Program and are eligible and needs to apply to receive Summer EBT funds.
Citizenship and immigration status does not impact eligibility for Summer EBT. Any income-eligible child in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program is eligible.
If your household income falls at or below these monthly guidelines, you should complete the Ohio Summer EBT application. Learn more, here.
NO. Using Summer EBT does NOT impact you or your child’s immigration status. The public charge rule does NOT apply to Summer EBT funds.
If a parochial, private, charter, or career tech school participates in the National School Lunch Program, the child is eligible for Summer EBT if they meet other criteria. Not all schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, so you can contact your school directly to find out, or search this database. Homeschool and virtual school students are not eligible for Summer EBT because they do not have access to school-based meals.
Getting the Summer EBT Funds
Summer EBT funds will be added to your existing account through a one-time additional payment. Funds will be added automatically to your Ohio Direction Card for all children ages 5 to 19. You do not need to apply.
If your income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid, you do not need to apply. Your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
If your income was higher than 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid, but your income has since changed, you will need to complete an application. If approved, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You do not need to apply. Your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You need to apply. After completing this application and receiving approval, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You need to apply. After completing this application and receiving approval, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
The student not need to apply. Their Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to them through their school liaison or in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You will receive a one-time payment. In summer 2024, this payment will be $120 per child.
Any child that is automatically approved to receive the Summer EBT benefit will receive it by July 31. If you believe you should have automatically received the Summer EBT benefit but do not receive it by July 31, you should submit an application or contact ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071. Benefits won't necessarily be issued on the same day for all the children in your household, but all of them should be received by July 31 if your children were automatically issued benefits. If you applied for Summer EBT, the date you get your Summer EBT funds will depend on when you applied.
You will receive $120 per eligible child.
If you think you are eligible but do not get your Summer EBT funds by July 31, please contact the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services at 1-866-244-0071.
If the child’s address on file with their school was a shelter and they do not participate in SNAP, then the child’s Summer EBT card will be mailed to the shelter. If the child has since moved into permanent housing, the child’s parent/guardian should first contact the shelter to see if they received the card. If not received by July 31, call the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services at 1-866-244-0071 for guidance on how to request a replacement card.
Using Your Card
For children not in a SNAP household, Summer EBT cards will be mailed in a plain white envelope with a window pane showing the child’s name and address.
See instructions for activating and using your card here.
Call the number on the back of the card for help.
You can call the number on the back of your Summer EBT card to check your balance.
You can use the card anywhere SNAP benefits are accepted. Find a place to shop here.
You can buy most household grocery items, including:
- Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables
- Meat, dairy, and eggs
- Rice, beans, pasta, and other dry goods
- Breads and cereals
- Seeds to grow your own food
Items you can NOT buy include:
- Prepared meals sold hot and ready to eat
- Diapers
- Cleaning products, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
- Medicine or supplements
- Restaurant food
- Pet food
- Alcohol and tobacco products
Yes, Summer EBT funds can be used anywhere that SNAP/EBT cards are accepted. This includes Farmers Markets. Produce Perks confirmed they are providing a $1-for-$1 match on all Summer EBT purchases when you shop at participating locations. See produceperks.org/locations.
Other Questions
No, Summer EBT funds supplement grab and go meal sites – they do not replace them. You can find a meal site in your community through the Ohio Department of Education’s meal site finder.
If you do not receive funds on your existing Ohio Direction Card, or through a new Summer EBT card in the mail, call ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071.
No! Save your card(s). Funds may be added at a later date.
The money will carry over from month to month and will only be removed from the card if unused after 122 days. You can use the funds when your family needs them to help buy food.
You may destroy the card when you get it.
To update your address, please call ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071. Summer EBT cards for children with recent address changes may be mailed to the previous address provided by the school district. Families should call to report the address change and get advice on how to request a replacement card, if necessary.
Yes, Summer EBT funds are in addition to any SNAP benefits a family may be receiving. It does not matter whether the family already receives the maximum SNAP benefit amount for their household size. Summer EBT is a replacement for missed school meals and is not the same as SNAP.
About Ohio’s Summer EBT/SUN Bucks Program
Some children will automatically receive Summer EBT funds based on their participation in other programs. Other children are also eligible to receive Summer EBT funds but will need to complete an application to receive funds.
If your household participates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps), your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds on your existing Ohio Direction Card.
If your child has been approved for free school meals based on your household’s income, your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds. If your child participates in Ohio Works First (OWF/cash assistance), your household will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
If your child does not participate in SNAP or OWF and did not directly apply for free school meals based on your household income, but is covered by Medicaid/CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program), your household may automatically receive Summer EBT funds. Whether you automatically receive Summer EBT funds will depend on if your income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid. If your income was higher then, but has changed since, you may still be eligible and can fill out an application.
If none of the above apply to your child, your child may qualify to receive Summer EBT based on your household’s income, but you will need to complete an application for Summer EBT. Please know that if your child receives free school meals because every student in your child’s school receives free school meals under the Community Eligibility Option (CEO), they will not be automatically enrolled for Summer EBT unless they participate in other programs listed above. To be eligible, your household must have income below 185 percent of the federal poverty level and your child must attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program – you can check if your school participates here.
In summer 2024, each eligible child will receive a one-time payment of $120 in Summer EBT funds. This amount may go up in future summers depending on cost of living adjustments.
Children in households participating in SNAP will receive funds on the existing Ohio Direction Card where your SNAP/OWF funds are loaded. Spend your Summer EBT funds just like SNAP.
Children in households participating in Ohio Works First (OWF) but not SNAP will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Children that do not participate in SNAP but have directly applied for and been approved for free school meals at a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, based on your household’s income, will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Children in income-eligible households participating in Medicaid but not SNAP, OWF, or free school meals based on household income will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Eligible children that need to apply for Summer EBT because they do not fall into any of the above categories will receive funds on Summer EBT cards that will be mailed directly to your house in a blank white envelope.
Many children do NOT need to apply for Summer EBT. If any of the following apply to your child, you do NOT need to apply for Summer EBT:
- Your household participates in SNAP (food stamps)
- Your household participates in Ohio Works First (OWF/cash assistance)
- Your household participates in Medicaid/CHIP and your household income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid
- Your child has already applied and been approved for free school meals based on your household’s income
If none of those apply to you, then you will need to apply for Summer EBT. Your child(ren) are eligible for Summer EBT if:
- They attend a school that participates in the National School Lunch Program, and
- Your household income is at or below 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level
You can confirm that your child’s school participates in the National School Lunch Program here.
You can check whether your household income makes your child eligible here.
If you need to apply, you can complete a Summer EBT application here.
Eligibility
Any child in a household that participates in SNAP is eligible and will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that has directly applied for free school meals and been approved based on their household’s income is eligible and will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that participates in Medicaid and lives in a household with income that was under 185 percent of the federal poverty level when they applied for Medicaid will automatically receive Summer EBT funds.
Any child that does not meet any of the above categories but attends a school participating in the National School Lunch Program and are eligible and needs to apply to receive Summer EBT funds.
Citizenship and immigration status does not impact eligibility for Summer EBT. Any income-eligible child in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program is eligible.
If your household income falls at or below these monthly guidelines, you should complete the Ohio Summer EBT application. Learn more, here.
NO. Using Summer EBT does NOT impact you or your child’s immigration status. The public charge rule does NOT apply to Summer EBT funds.
If a parochial, private, charter, or career tech school participates in the National School Lunch Program, the child is eligible for Summer EBT if they meet other criteria. Not all schools participate in the National School Lunch Program, so you can contact your school directly to find out, or search this database. Homeschool and virtual school students are not eligible for Summer EBT because they do not have access to school-based meals.
Getting the Summer EBT Funds
Summer EBT funds will be added to your existing account through a one-time additional payment. Funds will be added automatically to your Ohio Direction Card for all children ages 5 to 19. You do not need to apply.
If your income was below 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid, you do not need to apply. Your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
If your income was higher than 185 percent of the federal poverty level when you applied for Medicaid, but your income has since changed, you will need to complete an application. If approved, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You do not need to apply. Your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You need to apply. After completing this application and receiving approval, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You need to apply. After completing this application and receiving approval, your Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to you in the mail in a plain white envelope.
The student not need to apply. Their Summer EBT funds will be issued on a Summer EBT card that will come to them through their school liaison or in the mail in a plain white envelope.
You will receive a one-time payment. In summer 2024, this payment will be $120 per child.
Any child that is automatically approved to receive the Summer EBT benefit will receive it by July 31. If you believe you should have automatically received the Summer EBT benefit but do not receive it by July 31, you should submit an application or contact ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071. Benefits won't necessarily be issued on the same day for all the children in your household, but all of them should be received by July 31 if your children were automatically issued benefits. If you applied for Summer EBT, the date you get your Summer EBT funds will depend on when you applied.
You will receive $120 per eligible child.
If you think you are eligible but do not get your Summer EBT funds by July 31, please contact the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services at 1-866-244-0071.
If the child’s address on file with their school was a shelter and they do not participate in SNAP, then the child’s Summer EBT card will be mailed to the shelter. If the child has since moved into permanent housing, the child’s parent/guardian should first contact the shelter to see if they received the card. If not received by July 31, call the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services at 1-866-244-0071 for guidance on how to request a replacement card.
Using Your Card
For children not in a SNAP household, Summer EBT cards will be mailed in a plain white envelope with a window pane showing the child’s name and address.
See instructions for activating and using your card here.
Call the number on the back of the card for help.
You can call the number on the back of your Summer EBT card to check your balance.
You can use the card anywhere SNAP benefits are accepted. Find a place to shop here.
You can buy most household grocery items, including:
- Fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables
- Meat, dairy, and eggs
- Rice, beans, pasta, and other dry goods
- Breads and cereals
- Seeds to grow your own food
Items you can NOT buy include:
- Prepared meals sold hot and ready to eat
- Diapers
- Cleaning products, toilet paper, paper towels, etc.
- Medicine or supplements
- Restaurant food
- Pet food
- Alcohol and tobacco products
Yes, Summer EBT funds can be used anywhere that SNAP/EBT cards are accepted. This includes Farmers Markets. Produce Perks confirmed they are providing a $1-for-$1 match on all Summer EBT purchases when you shop at participating locations. See produceperks.org/locations.
Other Questions
No, Summer EBT funds supplement grab and go meal sites – they do not replace them. You can find a meal site in your community through the Ohio Department of Education’s meal site finder.
If you do not receive funds on your existing Ohio Direction Card, or through a new Summer EBT card in the mail, call ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071.
No! Save your card(s). Funds may be added at a later date.
The money will carry over from month to month and will only be removed from the card if unused after 122 days. You can use the funds when your family needs them to help buy food.
You may destroy the card when you get it.
To update your address, please call ODJFS at 1-866-244-0071. Summer EBT cards for children with recent address changes may be mailed to the previous address provided by the school district. Families should call to report the address change and get advice on how to request a replacement card, if necessary.
Yes, Summer EBT funds are in addition to any SNAP benefits a family may be receiving. It does not matter whether the family already receives the maximum SNAP benefit amount for their household size. Summer EBT is a replacement for missed school meals and is not the same as SNAP.
