YMCA program helps homeowners harvest fruit trees

If there’s anyone who knows what to do with lemons, it’s Margie Stark.

The La Crescenta resident is the proud owner of a 45-year-old lemon tree that has for years provided culinary inspiration — from pies and cookies to lemon chicken and lemonade — as well as gifts for friends and loved ones.

“You can do a lot of things with lemons,” she says. “(But) I couldn’t consume them all myself.”

For all Stark’s ingenuity, each season left her with more lemons than she knew what to do with, especially those positioned on higher, hard-to-reach branches. Year after year, the retired teacher was forced to hire professionals or, worse, let the fruit languish.

So this spring, Stark was excited to learn about a program run by YMCA of the Foothills that sends volunteers out to local houses to harvest fruit trees. Homeowners can call and schedule an appointment, and the rest is up to the volunteers.

La Cañada High School student Alan Kim, left, hands fruit to fellow YMCA volunteer Monte Davityan, as they harvest fruit at a La Cañada Flintridge home. A program run through the YMCA’s Social Responsibility department lets homeowners with fruit trees keep a portion of the picked fruit, while the rest is donated to area programs and food pantries.

(Courtesy of Matt Sanderson)

La Cañada High School student Alan Kim, left, hands fruit to fellow YMCA volunteer Monte Davityan, as they harvest fruit at a La Cañada Flintridge home. A program run through the YMCA's Social Responsibility department lets homeowners with fruit trees keep a portion of the picked fruit, while the rest is donated to area programs and food pantries. (Courtesy of Matt Sanderson)

When they’re done, harvesters set aside a predetermined amount for the tree owner; the program asks residents to donate at least 50% of all fruit picked. The rest is distributed to local senior centers or food pantries where fresh fruit is always appreciated.

It’s good for donors, not to mention the health of their trees, as well as the volunteer harvesters and the recipients, says Nayri Vartanian, leader of Social Responsibility, Community Services for YMCA of the Foothills.

Vartanian’s department helps members create and execute service projects in their local communities, which is how the fruit-tree harvesting got its start earlier this year. As more tree owners requested the service, the program grew into a year-round offering.

“There are so many people in the community who have fruit trees, and so much of it just falls on the ground,” Vartanian says of the program. “We’ve done a lot of harvesting for seniors out in the community. They like the fact we share the fruit with whomever may need it or want it, but we’re also caring for their trees.”

Since February, volunteers have picked citrus and stone fruits, apples and pomegranates, even avocados. On Sunday morning, five young harvesters convened at a Hillard Avenue home in La Cañada.

They’d come to denude an orange and persimmon tree, but were given permission by the homeowner to pick pomegranates while they were at it.

A box of pomegranates harvested from a home in La Cañada is ready to be distributed to Montrose’s Sparr Heights Senior Center, courtesy of a volunteer program run by YMCA of the Foothills’ Social Responsibility department.

(Courtesy of Matt Sanderson)

A box of pomegranates harvested from a home in La Cañada is ready to be distributed to Montrose's Sparr Heights Senior Center, courtesy of a volunteer program run by YMCA of the Foothills' Social Responsibility department. (Courtesy of Matt Sanderson)

La Cañada High School student Alan Kim said this was his second time volunteering through the YMCA, while Crescenta Valley High School freshman Eileen Eivazian admitted to being a newbie.

“I wanted to help people and the environment,” Eivazian said of her reason for coming out.

In no time flat, the trees were picked and the fruit boxed up for conveyance to the Sparr Heights Community Center in Montrose the following day. Stark attends exercise classes there three times a week, and has in the past seen seniors gladly accept the gift of excess lemons.

She says she’s glad the Y’s program is connecting residents like her, to whom life has given so many lemons, with people willing and able to make lemonade.

“It was just what I needed,” she adds.

For more information on YMCA of the Foothills’ fruit harvesting program or to schedule an appointment, call (818) 583-4728 or email nvartanian@ymcafoothills.org.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine