Ann Levin counts on Meals on Wheels for hot dinners twice a week. The retired librarian volunteers at Kaiser Hospital.

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THE WISH: CASH DONATIONS FOR HOT MEALS, SUPPLEMENTAL GROCERIES

Meal deliveries offer contact and nutrition for shut-ins

when congestive heart failure leaves her exhausted and out of breath, Ann Levin, 75, hardly feels like getting out of bed. Even though the cheerful retired librarian looks full of energy when she shows up at her one-day-a-week volunteer job, there are times when it's an effort just to get to the sink for a glass of water.

Thanks to Meals on Wheels, the San Mateo-based agency that delivers a hot dinner to Ann two days a week, the hardships of solo cooking and shopping are greatly reduced. And there's nothing like her favorite roasted chicken, green beans and applesauce to warm a lonely evening -- especially if the dessert is custard.

Even on her salt- and fat-restricted diet, Ann can enjoy the meals volunteers bring to her doorstep -- where a wood box holds an ice pack that keeps dinner fresh until she's ready to heat it up. Sometimes there are leftovers, a real bonus, she says. Just knowing she can count on something hot and nutritious is the most important, though.

``I go out for cardiac rehab at 8 in the morning, so I'm not there when it arrives,'' says Ann, who, in spite of her physical limitations, takes a community van to Kaiser Hospital in Redwood City once a week to volunteer in the health library. She admits to having a few lollipops while she's working, but for the most part she sticks to the bland, heart-healthy diet her doctor recommends.

``I come home and it's just waiting for me,'' she says, beaming. ``I pop it in the oven for five minutes at 450 degrees and there's dinner.''

For people like Ann, who find shopping and cooking beyond their capabilities, Meals on Wheels is a godsend. ``I just don't feel capable of making dinner anymore,'' she says. The dinners' recipients, many of them complete shut-ins, are asked to donate toward the cost of each meal if they can. But no one is turned away, and some people don't pay at all.

Like many people in her situation, it took Ann a while to decide to try Meals on Wheels, because she didn't want to ask for help. When she finally did make the call, she says the response was warm and immediate.

Wish Book readers can make sure that Ann and thousands of others won't miss their meal deliveries. Each donation of $38 (22A) provides an individual with a hot meal for one week through programs in San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Santa Cruz counties. In addition, each gift of $24 (22B) provides a month's worth of supplemental groceries to help low-income seniors make ends meet through the Operation Brown Bag program of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.