SALT LAKE CITY — After three years of feasibility studies and plans to put a permanent, year-round market at the Utah State Fairpark, the idea finally has an opening date.
The International Market, designed to help bring unique foods and culture to Salt Lake City’s west side, will open May 28, officials have announced.
“We’re trying to create something that’s special and unique to Salt Lake City, and also to the west side,” Larry Mullenax, the fairpark’s executive director, said at a news conference Wednesday. “We want to create a place where business owners can sell their goods. It will be a collaboration to help young entrepreneurs. It will also be a place where you can find goods from all over the world, and learn about other cultures and customs.”
Mullenax stressed that the International Market is not a farmer’s market or craft fair. Its purpose, he said, is to address food insecurity on the west side, provide foods that are culturally important to the surrounding neighborhoods, create a destination for Utahns to experience other cultures through food, crafts and art, and give immigrants and refugees opportunities to start businesses.
Neighborhoods around the Utah State Fairpark, at 155 N. 1000 West — including Fairpark and Westpointe — are among the most culturally and ethnically diverse areas in the state. Many people in those neighborhoods also live in a “food desert,” Mullenax said, meaning they live at least a half mile from a grocery store, and lack access to fresh fruits and vegetables.
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This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.
