Kaiser Permanente Fresno has pledged Fresno State a $5,000 grant to provide students with 125 “winter closure meal boxes,” including enough food and recipes for about five days.

“Some of our students stay by themselves in an apartment over the holidays,” director of wellness services Alicia Nelson said. “This Kaiser Permanente grant is making sure our students have access to food when the campus is closed.”

The campus will be closed from Dec. 25 to Jan 1. The Student Cupboard, the Student Health Center and volunteers have teamed up to assemble the boxes.

Kaiser reached out and suggested Fresno State apply for the grant, Nelson said. It specified the grant was to be used for something limited to the holiday season.

The Food Security Project has already received turkeys from one donor and hams from another, coordinator Project Jessica Medina said. With programs already set in motion, the Food Security team needed to be creative.

“We thought, ‘What can we do a little different this time around?’” Medina said. “That’s when we came up with the winter closure box.”

Stephanie Annett, a registered dietitian at the Student Health Center, is working on a recipe book that will help students know how to assemble the meals, as well as how to make the most of the food given.

The boxes will include whole chickens that will yield leftovers to be used for multiple meals, as well as small snack foods and breakfast items.

Kaiser provided $80,000 in grants this year to different organizations in the community to aid families and students in need, according to a press release.

“We know the holidays can be difficult for some in our community, which is why we wanted to support programs that provide healthy meals to those in need,” said Kaiser Permanente Fresno senior vice president and area manager Wade Nogy in a press release. “We are proud to partner with these community-based organizations that will ensure Valley families have nutritious meals to enjoy this holiday season.”

There is a signup process in the Student Cupboard that started the week before finals on Dec. 11. The boxes will then be distributed the following week on Dec. 19 and 20.

The Student Cupboard is located in the Industrial Technology Building, Room 144.