"It's an answered prayer!" said Betty Stafford, 82. "I couldn't be happier."

For a decade, Stafford has relied on the van to keep the shelves stocked at her Wheeler Manor apartment. The van delivers seniors from apartment complexes such as Wheeler Manor and Village Green to Nob Hill's First Street store, three times a week, free of charge. It's a vital service for cash-strapped seniors who can't drive, and can't afford the alternatives. Since former Nob Hill owner Michael Bonfante devised the program nearly 12 years ago, the company has shouldered the entire cost.

But when the aging 1980 Dodge began to show wear, Nob Hill's parent company, Raley's, decided repairing the van - or replacing it - wasn't worth it. As the program neared its end, seniors such as Madri, 75, braced themselves for lengthy bus rides, fielding favors, or barren cupboards.

"People were anxious. They didn't know what they'd do next," said Madri, a Wheeler Manor resident who has no last name. "They didn't know who they'd have to ask to come and take them shopping. Their kids, who live far away? Their busy niece?"

Today, the van was due to make its last trip, and Tina Meyer, its beloved driver, expected to lose her job.

That is, before the Gilroy Foundation stepped in.

"We considered this a community emergency," said executive director Donna Pray, who learned about the problem from a Dispatch article last Tuesday. Within days, in a flurry of phone calls, e-mails and meetings, the Foundation hatched a plan, and teamed up with St. Joseph's Family Center to realize it. "I called David Cox [director of St. Joseph's] and said, 'David, I know you run some great programs ... If you got a van donated to you, could you run this one?' And he said, 'We've got a van!' "

St. Joseph's volunteered its multipurpose van, a 2004 Chevrolet Express, for the cause. The nearly-new van seats up to 12 passengers, and isn't used on a daily basis. With a little planning, said Cox, and some "senior-ready" handrails and steps, the van could easily shuttle seniors to the store, without compromising St. Joseph's other programs.

"I'd rather see it used on a daily basis than sitting dormant," Cox said - and he'd rather see Meyer at the wheel, than out of a job. St. Joseph's has hired Meyer to squire the seniors, who praise her patience and compassion.

"She knows the route. She knows the seniors. She knows the program," said Cox. "We want to make sure there are no dramatic changes for anyone. We want continuity, consistency and familiarity. And Tina is part of that."

For Meyer, it's been a whirlwind week. Last Tuesday, she was bracing for a layoff: Nob Hill offered her a job in another department, such as the deli, but Meyer declined. The job would have kept her on her feet all day, a painful prospect after undergoing knee surgery. Three days later, she was filling out paperwork to join St. Joseph's staff, with the same wages and benefits as at the grocery store. The van will resume service in a few weeks.

"I had no idea things could move so fast!" she said. "It's great for the seniors, great for me, and great for Nob Hill."

To keep the van rolling, Cox estimates they'll need roughly $35,000 each year, to cover Meyer's salary, insurance, fuel, and maintenance. This year, the Gilroy Foundation is putting up $12,000. Cox said St. Joseph's will donate a portion of its discretionary funds, and hopes to collect the rest through fundraising. The new senior shuttle fund, operated by the Gilroy Foundation, isn't endowed, and relies entirely on community contributions.

Cox hopes Nob Hill Foods will chip in with funding or discounts, citing the company's history of serving seniors. Tuesday afternoon, Raley's spokeswoman Nicole Townsend said she hadn't yet heard about the program, and couldn't comment as to whether Nob Hill would contribute.

Though many seniors applauded Nob Hill's customer service, Stafford says that if other stores choose to donate, the van should take seniors - and their business - elsewhere. But for now, the van will keep shuttling seniors to the First Street store, to pick up life's necessities. The most important thing, said Cox, is to get the van in motion. The details can wait.

"We're going to make this program work," he said, "somehow, some way."

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