A Monumental Win: Iowa Will Participate in SUN Bucks in 2026!

Author: Paige Chickering, Iowa State Manager at Save the Children Action Network

On December 22, 2025, Governor Kim Reynolds announced that Iowa will participate in the SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) program in 2026.  

This is a monumental win for kids and families across the Hawkeye state – one that took years of sustained advocacy from our communities, partners and grassroots supporters.  

As we celebrate this success, it’s also important to reflect on how we got here, what made us successful, and how grassroots’ advocacy can drive meaningful policy change for children across Iowa.  

So, let’s start at the beginning.  

What is Summer EBT? 

For decades, the United States has documented a spike in food insecurity among children during the summer months – when low-income students lose access to free and reduced-price school meals. The federal Summer Nutrition Programs were created to address the summer hunger gap and to ensure kids continue receiving adequate food while school is out.  

Although these programs play a vital role in providing free summer meals to children in our communities, they’ve long been underutilized due to barriers like transportation challenges, limited program awareness, and restricted access –especially in rural communities.  

To address these challenges, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tested a variety of innovative pilot programs. After extensive research and evaluation, the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program (Summer EBT, also known as SUN Bucks) was developed to provide benefits directly to families, ensuring children have access to the food they need no matter where they live. 

After more than a decade of successful Summer EBT pilot programs beginning in 2011 – and in response to heightened food insecurity due to the COVID-19 pandemic – Congress made Summer EBT a permanent, nationwide program in December 2022. 

Healthy Kids Iowa: A Temporary Alternative 

Summer EBT is now a permanent federal program, with each state deciding if they’d like to participate. While benefits are fully federally funded, states must cover half of the administrative costs. 

In the summer of 2024, Iowa opted out of Summer EBT, citing concerns about costs, the federal deficit, and the program’s nutrition standards. After sustained advocacy from SCAN and the Iowa Hunger Coalition Governor Reynolds requested a waiver in 2025 to operate an alternative program: Healthy Kids Iowa. 

Healthy Kids Iowa provided families with one box of food per child per month, distributed through food banks and pantries. While families were grateful for any form of summer support –especially after having no alternative in 2024 –the program reached only a fraction of children eligible for SUN Bucks and created significant logistical barriers. 

Pantries struggled with limited cold storage, staffing, volunteer capacity, and community awareness. Families reported challenges accessing distribution sites –most operated during standard work hours, offered limited rural coverage and provided little flexibility for dietary restrictions or food preferences. 

When the Healthy Kids Iowa program concluded in August, SCAN worked closely with pantry partners to elevate these concerns with the Governor’s Office and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, urging Iowa to adopt Summer EBT for 2026.  

Grassroots Advocacy in Action 

Throughout the summer and fall of 2025, SCAN engaged Iowans at community events across the state –from Cedar Rapids to Des Moines to Logan –building public understanding of Summer EBT’s impact. In partnership with the Iowa Hunger Coalition, we collected more than 680 handwritten petition signatures supporting Iowa’s participation. 

In November, SCAN volunteers delivered these petitions  to the Governor’s Office and spoke with local media about why Summer EBT matters for Iowa’s kids and communities. 

A Monumental Win: Iowa Will Participate in SUN Bucks in 2026!  

About a month later, Governor Reynolds announced that Iowa will participate in Summer EBT in 2026. 

This decision is an incredible win for Iowa’s kids, families, retailers, rural economies, food banks, food pantries and the countless advocates who’ve worked tirelessly to ensure our state participates in Summer EBT. 

In addition to the amazing impact this will have in the lives of nearly a quarter-million children, this moment proves something even more important: advocacy works. When communities raise their voices together, real change happens. 

This decision not only reflects a commitment to prioritizing children, but a willingness from Iowa’s leadership to listen, learn and partner with its constituents to build a stronger future for our state. 

What’s Next?  

As we celebrate this major victory, we also know our work is far from done. While we navigate changes to federal nutrition programs, now is a critical time for us to engage at the state level to ensure Iowa enacts policies that support the nutrition and wellbeing of all children. If you’re ready to help make meaningful policy change for kids in your community, we hope you’ll join the SCAN Iowa team this legislative session. Let’s ensure children remain our lawmakers’ top priority!