187,000 Kansas children miss out on free summer meals despite eligibility
TOPEKA — An estimated 187,000 Kansas school-age children could have received free summer meals last year — their families just didn't submit the application.
Of the 193,000 potential applications estimated by the United States Department of Agriculture for the SUN Bucks program, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families, there were 5,645 submitted — only 3%. The program, also known as the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, gives families a $120 summer grocery card per eligible school-age child.
How to apply for SUN Bucks
Application is open now through Aug. 29, 2025.
Families who did not receive a letter from the Kansas Department for Children and Families in January can check their eligibility.
Families should apply through the DCF Self-service portal.
While most eligible children did not receive the SUN Bucks, 59,265 families automatically received them, according to DCF. The number of families who automatically received benefits were not counted into the 193,000 potential applications. Children in a household that had already submitted paperwork to receive free or reduced-price school lunches or applied for monthly food assistance programs, for example, were auto-enrolled. Families auto-enrolled for this summer received a letter in January.
The majority of states that offer SUN Bucks auto-enroll children in Medicaid. Kansas does not.
Haley Kottler, campaign director for food access at Kansas Appleseed, says DCF can't auto-enroll children on Medicaid because of capacity issues with its internal system.
'If systems were integrated and updated, approximately 60,000 more eligible children could be auto-enrolled in SUN Bucks,' Kottler said.
After federal funding was approved, families had from Aug. 12, 2024, to Oct. 15, 2024, to apply. This year, families have from Jan. 27 to Aug. 29 to apply — enlarging the window from two to seven months.
Kottler identified the small timespan as a reason for the low number of applications. The original application deadline was Sept. 11, 2024, and Kottler fought to change it. But she said that even with the extended window, applications didn't increase.
'It made it really challenging, because a lot of families just didn't know they were able to utilize this benefit,' Kottler said.
Erin LaRow, a spokeswoman for DCF, said her department spread the word via social media campaigns, messaging within the DCF phone system and self-service portal, a dedicated webpage and a statewide news release.
The department also shared a fact sheet, both in English and Spanish, with the Kansas State Department of Education.
David Rubel, a New York City-based education consultant, looked at 12 states' potential number of applications vs applications submitted. He found the percentage of applications submitted in every state was less than 20%.
North Carolina had the highest results, with 19.3% of applications submitted, followed by Missouri, with 18.3%. He said the comparatively robust numbers are because of communication about the SUN Bucks program from school districts.
'It's all about the school districts getting the word out to their families. And why I emphasize the school districts is because they're the only ones who have the current contact information for the families,' Rubel said.
Amber Wheeler, the superintendent of Humboldt School District — which has 33% of students approved for free and reduced-price lunches — said it has posted a DCF infographic on their social media accounts.
Robin Button, the food and service director for Fort Scott School District — with 56.7% of students approved for free and reduced-price lunches — said it plans on posting the infographic and mentioning the program at its town hall.
In the wake of President Donald Trump's promise to deport more people — and the use of federal documents to identify them — immigrant families are wary of submitting more documentation. While the Kansas DCF website states that receiving SUN Bucks would not affect a family's immigration status, fear remains.
'There's a chilling effect when it comes to programs like this,' Kottler said. 'It's absolutely causing them fear and to not apply.'
Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have been pushing spending cuts — a crusade that has trickled down to state-level officials. At the Kansas State Board of Education meeting on April 8, the board nearly cut the Public Education Partnership, which informs parents of the summer meals offered to them. The partnership was saved by one vote.
In the 2025-2026 Kansas legislative session, Republicans attempted to insert a provision in the budget that would ban the use of SUN Bucks on candy or soda. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the provision — and while the Senate overturned her veto, the House did not — ultimately upholding her veto.
LaRow with DCF said the department has received 1,294 SUN Bucks applications as of April 11.
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