A Salt Lake City corner store already known for its close ties with local growers is putting on its first farmers market next week.
Central 9th Market, at 161 W. 900 South, announced in an Instagram post Tuesday that they wanted to “highlight the farmers that we work with, Central 9th style.”
One of the market’s organizers, Soni Scheig, works at Central 9th as the local food liaison and is also a farmer who grows “every vegetable you have ever eaten,” they said. At Central 9th, Scheig works with farmers to get their produce into the store for retail and also into Central 9th’s freshly prepared food.
Scheig, along with Central 9th Market owners Max Nelson and Noah Kuhns, put together the farmers market with the goal of letting people “meet their farmers.”
“We just really wanted to ... show off the farmers that we work with that aren’t at the Downtown Farmers Market and aren’t at the [Wheeler Farm Farmer’s Market], and give our community the opportunity to come and support them down at the store,” Scheig said.
Another goal of the farmers market is to convey “how incredible the urban farming community in Salt Lake is, because a lot of people don’t know about that,” Scheig added.
The Central 9th farmers market is happening Thursday, July 17, from 5 to 8 p.m. right in front of the store at 900 South and Jefferson Street, which will be closed to vehicular traffic.
The selection will feature locally grown produce, flowers, “possibly” honey, baked goods by Lady Flour, and food specials with seasonal ingredients at Central 9th Market. There won’t be any arts and crafts vendors, to keep the focus on the producers, Scheig said.
The farmers that will be selling their goods at the market, whose produce can often be found at Central 9th, include Punk Rock Farmer Al, Urban Pepper Project, Creighton & Hart, Cubanita Farms, Top Crops, Silo & Seed, and Blind Goose Urban Farm.
Scheig said they are also planning to involve the local businesses that surround Central 9th into the farmers market. Watch for updates on Instagram at @central9thmarket.
The next farmers markets at Central 9th are scheduled for Aug. 14 and Sept. 18.