Turning quarantined lemons into lemonade for Santa Monica seniors

One person’s quarantine is another’s tasty green feast. Or at least a nice contribution to the daily salad bar.

That’s what the people from the Salvation Army’s Silvercrest senior residence in Santa Monica started receiving from grower/vendors at the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market.

The market is one of the country’s premier venues of its kind and attracts top chefs from throughout the area. But since October 29, the market, along with 16 others on the Westside, has been under quarantine due to the discovery of mated female Mediterranean fruit flies in a local backyard. The quarantine rules mean that unsold produce on the Medfly host list can’t return home with the farmers after the market day is finished, if it has been on display. Which brings us to the market’s arrangement to help bring the garden-fresh bounty to local organizations such as Silvercrest.

You might say it’s making lemonade out of lemons—but since this is the Santa Monica Farmer’s Market, better make that pomegranate-infused lemonade with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Laura Avery, who supervises all of Santa Monica’s farmers markets and manages the Wednesday market, said farmers are being judicious in how much produce they display for sale, given the restrictions. Produce left on the tables at the end of the market day is being offered to several community organizations in addition to Silvercrest, including a soup kitchen and Step Up on Second, which assists people with serious mental health issues.

As for the farmers, Avery said, “they’re glad to know it’s going to be used.”

“We’re excited about this relationship,” said Emily Seiler, administrator of the Silvercrest Residence, which offers apartment living on Fifth Street to 130 low- and moderate-income seniors. “Every Wednesday, at 1:15ish, we’re going to be arriving there with pickup trucks and boxes, and visiting each booth.”

The locally grown fruits and vegetables are a welcome addition to the lunches and dinners served to Silvercrest residents each weekday. “Certainly it’s going to reduce our produce cost,” Seiler said, adding that she was pleasantly surprised by this Wednesday’s first day haul.

“We got a box of oranges, a bag of lemons, some of those grape tomatoes, a half box of pomegranates, 5 or 6 groups of radishes, a box of lettuce of various types, 10-12-15 sprigs of rosemary,” Seiler said. “Every one of our meals has a full salad bar.”

Finding a use for the oranges is easy. Residents can take one back to their apartments for breakfast or a snack if they don’t eat it at lunch. And the lemons are sliced daily for iced tea. As for the more exotic ingredients, well, that promises to be a welcome challenge for the center’s cook.

“What she’ll do with the pomegranates,” Seiler said, “I’m actually not sure.”