Fruit

Darleene Barrientos Clusters of green grapes made their way to patients Wednesday at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, but they were not part of the hospital's standard dessert fare. Several crates of the plump grapes were blessed Wednesday by priests from St. Mary's Apostolic Church during the seventh annual Blessing of the Grapes ceremony, now a long-standing tradition at Glendale Adventist Medical Center. The ceremony is a 1,700-year-old tradition and started when ancient Armenians harvested grapes, brought them to church to be blessed and then distributed them among the poor and the needy.

Administrators scored a small victory in the battle against childhood obesity Thursday at Cerritos Elementary School, where students tested their knowledge of healthy eating habits and physical fitness. Cerritos’ “Nutrition Day” gave students a chance to visit booths set up by food and wellness groups, while also exposing children to an array of fruits and vegetables that they may not have been familiar with, said Agnes Lally, director of food services for the Glendale Unified School District.

SCHOOL LUNCH MENU Today: Hot dog or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt and crackers with a salad bar; or ham and cheese on a french roll with fruit and vegetables. Wednesday: Chicken nuggets or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt, crackers, seasoned rice and a dinner roll with a salad bar; or turkey ham and cheese deli stick with fruit and vegetables. Thursday: Nacho cheese and refried beans with chips or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt and crackers with a salad bar; or turkey ham and cheese on a croissant with fruit and vegetables.

One woman's yearlong quest to use backyard harvests to feed the needy has yielded more than 106,000 oranges, avocados, tangerines and other fruit - and she's not done yet.. Helena David and her team, including her husband, Scott, started harvesting fruit from the backyards of willing property owners in January 2011, delivering the fruit to nonprofit food distributors throughout the Los Angeles area. After her story appeared in the Leader, people started contacting her to pick their trees of fruit that would usually fall to the ground or be left on branches.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District offers menu choices each day at elementary schools. Students may choose a vegetarian entree. The selection varies and may either be a salad, sandwich or hot entree. Here's what's being served this week: TODAY: Munchable lunch salad with fruit yogurt or pepperoni hot pocket, crisp green salad with ranch, Tree Top flat fruit, choice of milk. WEDNESDAY: Munchable lunch salad or two mini cheeseburgers, lettuce and pickles, fresh pear, choice of milk.

SCHOOL LUNCH MENU Today: Nachos or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt and crackers with a salad bar; or turkey combo on a wheat roll with fruit and vegetables. Wednesday: Spaghetti and a dinner roll or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt and crackers with a salad bar; or submarine sandwich with fruit and vegetables. Thursday: Chalupa (similar to a taco) or cheese pizza or chef salad or low-fat yogurt and crackers with a salad bar; or turkey and cheese on a french roll with fruit and vegetables.

One woman's yearlong quest to use backyard harvests to feed the needy has yielded more than 106,000 oranges, avocados, tangerines and other fruit - and she's not done yet.. Helena David and her team, including her husband, Scott, started harvesting fruit from the backyards of willing property owners in January 2011, delivering the fruit to nonprofit food distributors throughout the Los Angeles area. After her story appeared in the Leader, people started contacting her to pick their trees of fruit that would usually fall to the ground or be left on branches.

A pink shirt and matching tie didn’t deter Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) from sinking his hands into a soon-to-be planted flower bed Friday at College View School, as Glendale Unified school board member Mary Boger distributed 300 worms nearby. “My father, when I was a kid, used to teach me the importance of getting down and working with the dirt, and I just think it is an important life lesson that kids should learn,” Gatto said. “It gives a really rewarding feeling when you plant something and a couple of months later you get a chance to see it grow, and then you get a chance to eat it.” Gatto was one of dozens of civic leaders, education officials and schoolchildren laboring to create a new garden at the special-education school, made possible in part by a grant the freshman state representative secured through Western Growers Foundation, the charitable arm of the agriculture trade association Western Growers.

The David family and their friend, Bridget Keenan, were sitting on the grass surrounded by hundreds of oranges and grapefruits on a brisk Thursday morning. They had just picked the fruit from a neighbor’s trees and were counting and sorting them, choosing the best to be donated to the Burbank Temporary Aid Center. It’s Helena David’s goal this year to pick 100,000 citrus fruits and donate them to the needy. As she drives around town, the Burbank resident said she sees trees bursting with ripe fruit that no one has time or energy to harvest.

Glendale resident Minas Soukasians would have just given away the pomegranates that someone cut through his backyard fence to steal, but they never asked. Soukasians on Monday noticed the tall tree, which once sparkled with ruby-colored fruit, was almost barren. "I can't believe it," he said. Upon further inspection of the tree, Soukasians said he noticed a gaping hole in the fence. Someone had cut the chain-link to steal the more than 20 pomegranates. "I have been waiting the whole year for this fruit," he said.

GLENDALE — After a one-year hiatus, the Kenneth Village farmer’s market returned Saturday, bringing residents and merchants together with organic produce, jewelry, pet adoptions, moon bounces and live music. The farmer’s market will be every Saturday, organizers said. Many businesses along Kenneth Road said sales have been strong lately, and the farmer’s market would draw customers. “I’m incredibly happy and pleased because I think this farmer’s market is exactly what Kenneth Village needs,” said Audrey Robles, owner of audrey k, a women’s clothing store.

Menu through Dec. 8. Meals served at 11:30 a.m. daily at: ? Adult Recreation Center 201 E. Colorado St. Glendale (818) 548-3778 ? Pacific Park Community Center 501 S. Pacific Ave. Glendale (818) 548-3775 ? Sparr Heights Community Center 1613 Glencoe Way Glendale (818) 548-2187 ? TODAY: Salmon croquettes, confetti rice, peas and carrots, garden salad, cream of tomato soup, wheat roll and fresh orange.

CENTRAL GLENDALE — The success of Target’s new produce sections has laid the groundwork for the company to add fresh fruits and vegetables at its Glendale store by next year, a company spokeswoman said Thursday. The Minneapolis-based discount retailer opened a produce section at its Burbank store last month, hoping to give shoppers an option to catch up on more of their grocery shopping while browsing the store for its traditional offering of household goods, said Hadley Barrows, a spokeswoman for Target.

As cars whizzed by on a crisp, early Sunday morning on Buena Vista Street, Marie Boswell shuffled a ladder and boxes to the backyard of Burbank resident Allison Bluestein before sticking a sign on the front lawn that read “Fruit being picked by Food Forward. This all-volunteer grass-roots organization gleans fruit off trees on properties and donates 100% of the bounty to food pantries in an effort to fight urban hunger, said Boswell, one of the fruit picking coordinators.

How do we live our lives? Do we go through the motions and allow ourselves to be blown to and fro by the circumstances we encounter? Or do we strive to call upon God for assistance when life gets tough? Honestly, I have been on both sides of this fence. Since accepting Jesus as an adult, I thankfully have been able to seek His face and call upon Him in many of my times of need. But truthfully, there have been times when life got so hectic and painful that I have been overcome by stress and just gone through the motions.