Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025.

Senator Pérez's Stop Child Hunger Act of 2025 directs California education officials to create a statewide online application system for the federal Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer for Children program, which provides grocery benefits to eligible students during summer months. The legislation requires the State Department of Education and Department of Social Services to develop a single website where families can submit required information for summer food benefits, with the system routing completed applications to local educational agencies for eligibility determination.

The bill mandates that the online platform be available in time for summer 2028 benefits, include translations in all CalFresh threshold languages, and request only federally required information. School districts, county offices of education, and charter schools must provide electronic devices upon request for families to access the application. The legislation also preserves paper applications when required by federal law and adds Summer EBT program information to existing online meal applications.

Local educational agencies implementing these changes will be eligible for state reimbursement of associated costs, as determined by the Commission on State Mandates. The measure builds upon California's existing Summer EBT program, known as SUN Bucks, which provided supplemental food benefits to five million children in summer 2024.