WILTON – A few gallons of kerosene bought Friday at a local gas station kept Mike Cushman and Charity Hodgkin’s home warm over the weekend.

But on Monday, the oil tank gauge needle was dropping quickly toward empty.

Cushman wanted his words of appreciation to be heard. Just in time, the couple received a voucher from the Citizens Energy Oil Heat Program that allowed them to order 100 gallons of K1 for free. The program started in Massachusetts is championed by Joseph Kennedy II.

It extends its coverage to the northeastern shore, said a representative from Citizens Energy on Monday. The program is based on the number of people in a home and their income during 2007. People who receive a voucher then can order 100 gallons of heating fuel from a local participating dealer and give the voucher to the deliverer. It’s a one-time annual benefit, but participants can reapply next year.

Cushman was waiting for a Twitchell Fuel driver from Farmington on Monday. So far this year, Twitchell’s has received 40 to 50 program vouchers given for use in Franklin and Somerset counties, said a company employee.

Parent of a 2-year-old, Cushman said he learned about the program from his daughter’s early Headstart program and then learned that neighbors have participated. The couple had seen ads featuring Kennedy on television and decided to call the toll-free number to ask for an application. They filled it in and two weeks later received the voucher.

Both live on disability, they said, and stretching that cash benefit to the first of the month could have meant scrounging to get by, Hodgkin said. Another bill may not have been paid or they might have had to skip food for the family.

“It’s hard to tell your children that we’re having macaroni and butter five nights in a row,” Hodgkin said. Stretching the disability payments also means skipping early Headstart because she can’t afford the gas to transport her daughter or even the price of a movie ticket once in a while for her 14-year-old like his peers have, she said. “It’s hard.”

The couple, who moved to Wilton a two years ago, added a new roof to their 14-by-70-foot mobile home to help cut down on heating costs. They went through 100 gallons a month before adding the roof, he said.

They receive LIHEAP funds administered through the Community Action Program, and received $800 this year to help with winter’s heating costs, he said. So, the couple sometimes need to purchase a few gallons to get by.

While applications for the Citizens Energy Oil Heat program were expected to be taken until Feb. 29, the program has reached capacity and is about at the end, the program representative said. There is a waiting list, she added.

Information about the program can be found by calling 1-877-563-4645, or online at www.citizensenergy.com

The program has delivered oil to poor and elderly households in Massachusetts and 16 other cold weather states since 1979, according to its Web site.