News From The Cafe

SUN Bucks (Summer EBT) is a federal program providing $120 per child ($40/month for June-August) to low-income families to buy groceries during summer break. Eligible families with school-aged children receive a physical card to use at authorized retailers. It is available in over 35 states, tribes, and territories, with automatic enrollment for many receiving SNAP or TANF

Reminders if you received SUN Bucks in 2025

You can use your same SUN Bucks card for 2026! If you receive information that you are approved for benefits for 2026, your benefits will be issued to the same SUN Bucks card as last year. If you need a replacement card, visit DTAConnect.com and create an account to get a replacement SUN Bucks card, or contact the SUN Bucks hotline at 855-425-8770.

SUN Bucks FAQs

How do I know if my child is eligible for SUN Bucks?

Your child is eligible, if:

• They are school-age and your household already participates in benefits like SNAP, FDPIR, or TANF
  Or,
• Your child attends a school that offers the National School Lunch or School Breakfast Program, and your household income meets the requirements for free or reduced-price school meals.

How do I create a PIN for my SUN Bucks card?

To set a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for your SUN Bucks card, call the number on the back of the card (1-800-997-2555)and follow the prompts. You will need your case number (which begins with the numbers 8 and 0) from the approval notice from DTA and the birthday of the person whose name is on the SUN Bucks card.

For students in foster care, you need the student's birthday.

How Do I Apply For SUN Bucks?

Many children will get SUN Bucks automatically if their household receives other income-based benefits like SNAP or TANF, but some will need to apply. To apply online or download a paper application follow this link Apply for SUN Bucks you will be asked to provide information such as your child’s name and date of birth, school, home address, and household income. Families can also request paper applications from the food service director.

Where can I use SUN Bucks?

Many grocery stores, farmers markets, convenience stores, and online retailers accept SUN Bucks. Often, these are the same places that accept SNAP and WIC. Use the SNAP Retailer Locator to find stores near you.

What can I buy with SUN Bucks?

You can use SUN Bucks to pay for:

• fruits and vegetables
• meat, poultry, and fish
• dairy products
• breads and cereals
• snack foods and non-alcoholic drinks

You cannot use SUN Bucks to purchase:

• hot foods
• pet foods
• cleaning or household supplies
• personal hygiene items
• medicine

This is a good time to review your student’s meal account balance. We kindly ask that any negative balances be settled before June 2, 2026.

Checks may be made payable to the Town of Lunenburg. For your convenience, credit card payments are also accepted through the online payment service LINQ.

https://linqconnect.com/main

In addition, for students who are graduating with a positive balance, funds may be transferred to a sibling’s account. Transfers can be completed through LINQ, or families may email the Food Service Director with transfer requests.

Families who wish to have remaining balances refunded may submit a completed reimbursement form to the Food Service Director

The reimburse form is linked below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nVjYbBDnii_j2WoFlHT5AfPwBCOfqVm8/view?usp=sharing

Please contact the food service director with questions or concerns.

As of August 27, 2024, Lunenburg Food Service began using LINQ, a major software upgrade that provides many new features for our program. These features include enhanced menu planning and nutritional analysis tools, an updated point-of-sale system, and a new online meal account payment platform.

All meal account balances previously held in PowerSchool/RevTrak including both positive balances and negative balances were transferred to LINQ Connect. If you or your student had a balance in PowerSchool, that balance should now appear in LINQ.

Please note that Food Service is no longer using PowerSchool as its point-of-sale system. We have fully transitioned to LINQ, and all account activity, including deposits and daily meal purchases, will now be reflected exclusively in LINQ. Because of this transition, balances in PowerSchool will no longer be updated or accurately reflect current account activity.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your student or staff meal account, please contact the Food Service Director.

To register for LINQ Connect and start enjoying its benefits, please visit your app store and download the app or visit https://www.linqconnect.com and click “Register” to create your account.

For Families- Once you have created your account you will need to link your student/'s to your account. To link students you will select the Lunenburg school district from the drop down menu - add your student first, last name and date of birth.

For Staff - Once you have created a LINQ Connect account with your personal email you will link your Linq account to your LINQ Connect account as well as any students you have in the district. to link your linq meal account select the Lunenburg school district from the drop down menu , enter your 4 digit ID number, your first and last name. Then link your family/students - select the Lunenburg school district from the drop down menu , student first, last name and date of birth.

Strawberries are the first locally-grown fruit of the year to ripen, a sign of the bounty yet to come!

Healthy Serving Ideas

Yogurt Parfait: Combine yogurt with strawberries & granola.

Strawberry Salsa: Chop strawberries, kiwi, avocado, red onion, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice and mix together. Serve with tortilla chips.

Strawberry-Orange Ice Pops: Blend 1 cup of strawberries with 1 cup of orange juice. Pour into popsicle molds, or paper cups with popsicle sticks, and set in the freezer.

Strawberry Purchasing Pointers

• Look for plump berries with a rich color, bright green leafy tops, and a sweet smell.

• Store unwashed berries in the fridge in a container for up to 3 days. It is best to eat them as soon as possible!

• Gently wash berries with cool water with their green tops still on

Fun Facts

• It takes 30 days for each strawberry to grow from flower to fruit.

• There are 7 towns named “Strawberry,” 6 are in the United States and 1 is in Jamaica.

Strawberry Agua Fresca

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh (or unsweetened frozen) strawberries, hulled

• 3 cups cold water

• 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice or vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon honey, real maple syrup, or sugar

Directions

1. Put all the ingredients in the blender.

2. Put the top on tightly. Turn the blender to a medium setting and blend until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute.

3. Serve right away (with ice cubes if you like), or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days

Source: Chop Chop Magazine