Bruce Rathfon's Toyota Camry was transformed into a delivery truck last Monday morning as he and old pal John Diercks drove meals to homebound local residents.

At about 10:15 a.m., Rathfon and Diercks picked up 28 hot and cold meals from a church kitchen. The cold meals, consisting of a sandwich, fruit and milk, were placed in lunch bags brightly decorated with pumpkins, pilgrims and footballs by local schoolchildren. The hot plates, stacked in blue thermoses, consisted of sloppy joes, beans and pineapple wedges.

Rathfon and Diercks serve as volunteer drivers for the State College branch of Meals on Wheels, an organization that provides food to those who have physical or mental health issues that prevent them from making their own meals.

The men used a checklist to arrange the meals in order based on their route and to verify that each meal fit the recipient's individual dietary needs.

"I have to make sure that the names match the meals because some of them have diabetes," Diercks said.

Rathfon and Diercks then loaded the meals into the trunk and backseat of the car and set out to make the deliveries. They casually chatted about their families, friends and Penn State sports along the way.

The two friends deliver food together every other Monday.

"I decided to volunteer when I retired from Penn State two years ago," said Diercks, a retired air force colonel and Penn State meteorology instructor. "I like to keep busy."

Rathfon has been volunteering for about 14 years and said he likes helping out with Meals on Wheels because he has a lot of experience with handling food.

"I worked for Penn State's Housing and Food Services for 38-and-a-half years," he said.

Operating out of the kitchen of Grace Lutheran Church, 205 S. Garner St., Meals on Wheels is staffed by two paid cooks, a registered dietician and 750 volunteers. Meals are prepared and delivered on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Recipients pay for meals based on their income and must live within the State College school district. The cost ranges from free to $6 per meal.

The first few deliveries were made to houses in State College and only took a few minutes each. At each stop, Rathfon put the car in park as Diercks jumped out and dropped off the meals.

"If residents aren't home, he just leaves it at the door," Rathfon said.

However, most of the meals were delivered to elderly residents at Mount Nittany Residences, 301 Rolling Ridge Drive.

Both Diercks and Rathfon delivered meals to 24 recipients at the assisted living community, using shopping carts located in the lobby of the building to wheel the food around.

"Some people get special meals," Diercks said. "Some get limited cheese and tomatoes. Some get no hard-to-chew foods and some no fish."

Rathfon and Diercks were met with big smiles and heartfelt thank you's as they handed meals to residents in the hallway or at their doors.

After distributing all the meals, they made one more delivery to an elderly couple's home. Rathfon and Diercks then headed back to the church at about noon to drop off the thermoses.

When they arrived, the kitchen smelled like Thanksgiving -- the cooks were busy preparing last Wednesday's meals of roasted turkey and pumpkin pie.