RICHMOND, Va. β State leaders say they are aware of a technical issue causing delays for some Virginia families waiting for summer food assistance.
A statement published by Virginia's SUN Bucks program, which provides eligible families with $120 per child to help with groceries during the summer months, says some families have not received their benefits as scheduled.
"Our team is working hard to get all eligible recipients their benefits as soon as possible. While benefits have been issued to approximately 75% (more than 600,000) of automatically-enrolled households, we will continue to issue the remaining benefits on a rolling basis. We truly apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we resolve the issue," the statement says.
Information from the City of Petersburg says around 68,000 families are impacted by the technical issue.
Automatically enrolled families who participate in SNAP or TANF should have seen that money active in their accounts on Friday, July 18.
If your child received free or reduced lunch during the school year, you are also automatically eligible.
However, you at home could also receive this free money to help cover food costs for your child.
Sarah Steely, director of No Kid Hungry Virginia, explains that their call center is open five days a week and ready to talk through the eligibility requirements and help you sign up, as she knows how much this money is needed.
Steely says that about a year ago, they surveyed 1,300 Virginians about their experiences with hunger and buying groceries, and she notes that over three-fourths of those Virginians said it had become harder to afford food in the last year.
βOver 60% of families with K-12 students in the public school system said that they are having to make a tough trade-off between buying food or paying a utility bill, or buying food or paying for medicine," Steely noted. "And that is an agonizing choice that no Virginia family should have to make. Virginia SUN Bucks is not the only solution, but it is here to help."
The deadline to apply for Virginia SUN Bucks is Aug. 30, and while summer is over for most families at that time, you could still be eligible for this one-time summer payment when the school year begins.
You can call 866-513-1414 Monday through Friday from 9:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. to talk to a Virginia SUN Bucks representative or visit virginiasunbucks.com.
CBS 6 is committed to sharing community voices on this important topic. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
π²: CONNECT WITH US
Blue Sky | Facebook | Instagram | X | Threads | TikTok | YouTube
This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. To learn more about how we use AI in our newsroom, click here.
