California households still have a sizable amount of summer grocery aid for children available, but the chance to use it is shrinking.
The California Department of Social Services says nearly $106 million in federal SUN Bucks benefits remain unspent. As cards reach their individual expiration dates through mid-November, some of that money will start to disappear.
Here's what to know
California automatically sent SUN Bucks cards in summer 2026 to eligible households covering 3.8 million children, with $120 loaded for each child to help pay for groceries while school is out, CalMatters reported. Once a card is received, the benefits last 122 days, and whatever is left after that goes back to the federal government.
SUN Bucks is aimed at lower-income households, including families whose children qualify for free or reduced-price school meals or take part in programs such as Medi-Cal or CalFresh. California serves two meals a day to all public K-12 students, and the summer benefit is meant to help with grocery costs when school is out.
There is no single expiration date for every household. The state mailed cards in batches throughout summer 2026, so the deadline depends on when a family got its card. A household that received one in mid-June may have only a short time left, while cards sent in late July are expected to remain valid until mid-November.
Only households that were already mailed SUN Bucks cards in summer 2026 can access the remaining money, according to the state.
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More background
This is not the first year the state has seen a large share of benefits go unused. Records from the California Department of Social Services showed that about a quarter of 2025 summer food benefits, or $118 million, went unused. Those same records also indicated that nearly one in five of the cards mailed in 2025 were never activated.
The current aid is expiring in stages in fall 2026 rather than all at once. A family with three eligible children, for example, would have $360 in benefits at risk if the money goes untouched until the deadline passes.
That rolling schedule can make the cutoff easy to miss for families who are unsure when their card arrived.
What can be done?
Each SUN Bucks card comes with its own 122-day spending window, so families that already received one need to use the benefits before that individual deadline. Because the mailings went out at different times, households needed to track their own card's timing instead of relying on a single statewide expiration date.
To try to keep benefits from going unused, California automatically mails cards to eligible families instead of making them submit a separate application. The state also sends text reminders and other prompts urging households to activate the cards and spend the money before it expires.
For families that receive both CalFresh and SUN Bucks, the state recommends using SUN Bucks first because it runs out sooner, according to California Department of Social Services spokesperson Jason Montiel.
Where can I learn more?
Families racing to use SUN Bucks before they expire may also be looking for other ways to cut grocery and household costs.
• Parents can cut school lunch waste with simple packing habits that save money.
• The Too Good To Go app makes discounted surplus food easier to buy.
• In San Diego, SDG&E customers receive automatic summer bill credits as seasonal relief.
• In one California city, turning rooftop solar into relief helps low-income households manage power bills.
• Federal rebates can make home energy upgrades free for some qualifying households this summer.
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