HONOLULU -- Gasoline thieves hit the nonprofit group Meals on Wheels and damaged vehicles that caused delays in meal deliveries to hundreds of homebound seniors on Monday.

The skyrocketing cost of gasoline has meant an increase in gas theft. Lanakila Meals on Wheels has seen it firsthand. This is the third time the nonprofit group has been hit by gasoline thieves in the past year.

It is a major setback for an agency that nearly folded last year.

Gasoline thieves hit two delivery cars sometime over the weekend. A Lanakila Meals on Wheels driver made the discovery while filling up one of the cars.

"The gas was leaking underneath," Meals on Wheels Director Remy Rueda said. "We checked the gas line and sure enough, it had been cut."

Mechanic Toni Sani confirmed it was a case of gasoline theft.

"They slice through with a sharp object, and they're shoving the garden hose inside and they're siphoning the gas," Sani said.

The theft delayed hot meal deliveries to some of the 1,700 seniors who receive meals each day.

Employees had to scramble to make the deliveries.

"This morning I have to use my car and do a delivery because we don't have enough cars," Rueda said.

Thieves have stolen gas from nine vehicles in three separate incidents in the last year. Drivers and volunteers have been parking vehicles close to each other in hopes of discouraging thieves from siphoning gas from cars.

"But what they did is they went underneath and cut the line," Sani said.

A front gate has not helped either. Thieves have been getting through in other ways.

"Whoever is doing this has to realize that they are getting meals out of the mouths of seniors," Rueda said.

Meals on Wheels depends on government funding and donations. Rueda estimated that the most recent theft will mean the loss of some 600 meals. It will cost the nonprofit group another $600 to repair the two cars.

Mechanics are warning thieves of the dangers of cutting fuel lines.

"If they're cutting and say the knife or whatever metal object is metal, it strikes the ground, it can throw a spark and a catastrophic fire," Sani said.

Sani said gasoline thieves are targeting fleets rather than individual cars.

He recommended companies avoid filling their cars with gas on Fridays. Keep tanks on the empty side over the weekend.