A new state program will help families buy food for their school-aged children during the summer.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) on Thursday launched Summer EBT, which will provide $120 in grocery money to eligible families with children 7 to 17 years old.

The program, known as SUN Bucks in other states, is a partnership between DCF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service.

The benefits will work at grocery stores, farmers markets and other places that accept SNAP EBT benefits, DCF Secretary Laura Howard said in a news release. The Summer EBT program doesn’t prevent participation in other community summer meal programs.

“Summer is a time when many children lose the free and reduced-price meals they get at school and when households might need a little extra help putting meals on the table,” Howard said.

DCF and the Kansas Department of Education will work to identify who’s eligible for the Summer EBT benefits, which will start rolling out in mid to late July, according to the news release.

The identified families will have $120 automatically added to their existing Kansas Benefits Card or loaded onto a card sent to their homes.

Families who don’t receive the benefits can apply to check their eligibility between Aug. 12 and Sept. 11 at dcfapp.kees.ks.gov.

DCF said eligibility is dictated by a child meeting one of two requirements:

• The child receives food assistance, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and/or foster care benefits at any point during the school year.
• The child’s household income meets the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals at any point during the school year.

10 counties receive $6.65M for rural road safety projects

The state’s High Risk Rural Roads Program will provide $6.65 million in federal money for 10 projects to improve roadways, Gov. Laura Kelly announced Thursday.

Three of the projects received more than $1 million:

• Sedgwick County — $1.6 million ($1.1 million local match)
• Dickinson County — $1.06 million ($297,000 local match)
• Ottawa County — $1.02 million ($163,000 local match)

“Our rural roads are important to the local and state economy,” Kelly said in a news release. “Programs like this enable commerce to flow smoothly and improve safety for Kansas families as they travel our state.”

The Kansas Department of Transportation program receives money from the federal Highway Safety Improvement Program. The local governments will infuse an additional $2.37 million in funds for the projects.

The department selected the 10 projects from 46 counties applying for $40.5 million. The projects are either systemic — encompassing a local roadway network — or site-specific.

Transportation Secretary Calvin Reed stressed the importance of the projects, saying “more than 60% of fatal and serious injury crashes occur on county-owned roads and highways.”

Bryan Richardson is the managing editor at State Affairs Pro Kansas/Hawver’s Capitol Report. Reach him at [email protected] or on X @RichInNews.