Media Contact:
March 19, 2026
Lilly Price, Press Secretary
lillian.price@maryland.gov
Phone: 443-965-1265
Targeted Outreach Narrows SNAP Enrollment Gap for Maryland SUN Bucks Families
A new report highlights how a text campaign connected 2,700 households to food assistance and strengthened efforts to combat childhood poverty.
Baltimore, MD — More than 2,700 Maryland households across all 24 jurisdictions newly enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through a targeted text outreach campaign by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) and the nonprofit mRelief. According to a recently released impact report, the pilot program is estimated to have unlocked $5.5 million in food benefits over six months. The campaign reflects the Moore-Miller Administration’s focus on innovative approaches to reduce childhood poverty and expand access to public benefits.
The text outreach focused on families participating in Maryland SUN Bucks, a summer nutrition program that helps Marylanders with school-aged children who receive free or reduced-price meals buy groceries during the summer break when school meals are unavailable. Last summer, the program served more than 630,000 children, nearly 99% of whom were automatically enrolled.
Many families receive SUN Bucks without enrolling in SNAP despite meeting the eligibility requirements. Only about half of SUN Bucks customers were enrolled in SNAP at the start of the campaign. On average, SNAP provides $331 per household each month, offering year-round food support beyond summer benefits.
“This campaign shows the power of connecting families to the resources they need in ways that are simple and effective,” said Gloria Brown Burnett, Interim Secretary of Human Services. “By reaching thousands of households through text messaging, we were able to help families access critical food assistance. This is exactly the kind of innovation and partnership we need to close gaps and make benefits more accessible for Marylanders.”
Last September’s text campaign reached 170,700 SUN Bucks households, notifying them about potential SNAP eligibility and providing a link to an online eligibility screener. The pilot found that 42% of the 28,401 households that started eligibility screening were likely eligible for SNAP. These findings will help DHS refine future efforts to reach and support more families.
“This partnership provided us with an exciting opportunity to implement tried-and-true strategies, while developing novel solutions to address program-specific challenges,” said Brittany Jones, executive director of mRelief. “We are equally excited about the impact this partnership had on Maryland residents in 2025 as we are about the opportunities it opens up to continue boosting cross-enrollment into the future.”
The recently released report also concluded that the bilingual English and Spanish text messages sent by DHS proved effective at engaging Spanish-speaking clients.
And notably, about 5% of households that completed the online eligibility screener came from phone numbers outside the targeted outreach list, suggesting that information was shared organically within communities.
In addition to highlighting promising outcomes from the text campaign, the impact report identified opportunities to build upon this recent success in future cross-enrollment efforts and expand outreach to eligible families. DHS plans to conduct another targeted outreach campaign later this year.
The Maryland SUN Bucks program is a key part of the Moore-Miller Administration’s effort to end child poverty in the state of Maryland. Launched in 2023, the program continues to steadily grow. In summer 2024, SUN Bucks helped feed more than 605,000 children across all 24 jurisdictions in the state, compared to about 90,000 children the previous year. In summer 2025, this number increased to a record 630,006 students served.
About the Maryland Department of Human Services
The Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) is the state’s primary social services provider, serving more than one million Marylanders annually. Through its programs — including food assistance, cash support, child welfare, and energy assistance — DHS works to strengthen Maryland’s families and communities. Marylanders can check their eligibility and apply for benefits at MarylandBenefits.gov.
About mRelief
mRelief is a nonprofit organization that uses technology to help people access public assistance programs with dignity and ease. To date, mRelief has helped Americans unlock more than $2 billion in public benefits by developing accessible, mobile-first tools. In collaboration with their network of over 200 community-based organizations across the country, they are revolutionizing the way people access public services.
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