When Margaret, an elderly State College resident, came home from the hospital after having surgery, she was alone.

"I thought, 'I don't have anybody. What's going to happen to me? Who is going to take care of me?' " said Margaret, who has no direct relatives who are still alive. Margaret said her best friend is her doctor.

But Margaret said she knew she would be OK when the woman across the hall started bringing her Cream of Wheat every morning. The woman has since moved, but volunteers from Meals on Wheels have stepped in to fill her shoes.

Margaret is one of more than 117 Centre County residents who get a lunch and a dinner delivered to them three times a week by State College Meals on Wheels.

"It's wonderful that these people do this," Margaret said. "It's just too hard for me to cook these days," she said.

Margaret said on the days Meals On Wheels does not deliver, she either walks to a nearby restaurant or eats frozen meals. "But you know, you can get tired of them," she said, adding she likes the company of volunteers.

Anna Carol Buffington, a registered dietician and program coordinator for Meals On Wheels said the program provides two services.

"We deliver meals but we also provide someone to check on them -- just a friendly face," Buffington said.

Buffington said 10 to 12 percent of the clients are under the age of 60 but suffer from things like chronic fatigue, cerebral palsy or are mentally challenged.

Although they have a lot of clients, Buffington said they try to give each individual care. They prepare special meals for those who have special nutritional needs.

Meals On Wheels was started in State College in 1971, Buffington said, adding the first day they delivered 26 meals. The operation has expanded but is still funded completely by donations.

Clients who are able to pay for the meals make a $4 donation for each day's delivery, Buffington said, but added 75 percent are unable to pay the complete cost.

Buffington is one of three paid employees. The rest of the work is done by a steady stream of volunteers like Martha Beward of State College who helps prepare the meals in the kitchen at Grace Lutheran Church, South Garner Street and Beaver Avenue.

"I peel over a ton of potatoes each year for Meals On Wheels," Beward said. "I don't mind because it is a good cause."

One of the volunteers who delivers meals to Margaret is James Kline of State College.

"Jim is a sweetheart," Margaret said. Kline said he has known Margaret for years since they once worked together at the University.

Kline started delivering meals four years ago and has been working with his current partner Bruce Rathfon for two years.

"We were both retired and were looking for something helpful to do," Kline said.

He said the clients are thankful for the meals they receive and are glad to see them.

"Usually what they want us to do is to tell them what the weather is like," he said. "We are sort of their link to the outside world."