San Anton Palace citrus fruits to be sold from Kitchen Garden

Fresh oranges, lemons, mandarins and grapefruit picked from the San Anton Palace grounds will be sold from the President’s Kitchen Garden from Saturday.

The sale of the fruit will replace the annual Citrus Festival that is usually held on the palace grounds but had to be postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions.

President George Vella and his wife Miriam today visited San Anton Palace staff during the harvest of fruit from the citrus grove. They were accompanied by the Chairperson of the Administrative Board of The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation Marlene Mizzi.

Instead of being sold at a fair, the products will be available at the President’s Kitchen Garden, Attard, from Saturday, 2 January 2021, until stocks last.

Miriam Vella, the President's wife, said it would have been a pity to allow the citrus fruit to go to waste because of the pandemic

All proceeds from this annual initiative will be in aid of The Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation.

Miriam Vella said it would have been a pity if the abundance of citrus at the San Anton Palace’s grove was allowed to go to waste due to the pandemic.

“An alternative was found so that the public can still enjoy the exquisite taste of Maltese citrus whilst helping those in need,” she said in a statement released by the Office of the President.