CLARKSDALE, Miss.—Around the middle of October 2021, the summer sun played peekaboo behind clouds, letting cooler wind whisper to the sweatbeads forming on Robbie Pollard’s back. He gazed across the 45 acres of Marks, Mississippi, farmland the grandfather who raised him had passed down before crouching down to the crop rows and fertilizing the soil. The farmer then carefully began planting strawberry seeds, covering them with dirt as he hoped the yield he reaped would match the seeds he sowed.
These acres had lived and birthed fruits of generational agriculture many decades before Pollard would take on the family tradition and sow seeds in that same Delta dirt. Six months later, Pollard walked out to the fields of his hard work, reached past the green leaves that cascaded across the crop rows and grabbed a ripe, red strawberry.
“We had some of the biggest strawberries we had ever seen,” Pollard told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 6. “A lot of people from the community came over. We had kids coming out, picking fresh strawberries. That was one of my most successful yields.”
The owner and operator of a mobile food truck, Pollard started growing fresh strawberries to supply the strawberry feta salads that were offered through The Happy Foods Project, an initiative of his Start 2 Finish Farm. The truck traveled throughout the Mississippi Delta, providing people with quick and easy access to fresh produce and ready-made salads.
While the operation of the fresh food truck will be paused until the beginning of next year, his farm and agricultural network continued to grow.
Higher Purpose, Higher Impact
Dr. Tim Lampkin, the executive director and founder of Higher Purpose Hub, formerly known as Higher Purpose Co., has created an economic network of Black businesses and organizations by offering grants, resources and platforms since 2016. Through Higher Purpose, Lampkin works to cultivate a culture of economic growth through three major pillars: community education, storytelling and grantmaking.
“We have made it our mission to improve economic opportunity across the Mississippi Delta, and we do that by focusing on (these) three impact tools,” Lampkin told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 6 at Higher Purpose Fest’s community market held outside the Coahoma Higher Education Center.
A native of Clarksdale, the entrepreneur wants to continue showcasing the gems of the Mississippi Delta, especially in his hometown.
“Clarksdale is home for me. Clarksdale is ingrained in my DNA. … Clarksdale continues to be, in my opinion, one of the most underestimated places in the world,” Lampkin said. “We want to make sure that we continue to lift up those stories and really pour back into the community and the next generation.”
Higher Purpose celebrated its fourth annual Higher Purpose Fest in Clarksdale earlier this month, offering a free three-day festival of food and music that celebrated local economic growth. At this year’s festival, the community celebrated the groundbreaking ceremony of Higher Purpose Hub in Lampkin’s hometown.
Lampkin intends for the new center, a $3-million project that sits at the corner of Clarksdale’s downtown business district, to be a space that will serve as a resource for the Coahoma County community.
“Our work is definitely needed,” he said. “(The center) will have everything from a food market, to a bookstore, to a learning lab. In addition, it will be a multi-purpose event space where we can bring people together.”
With the groundbreaking underway, the organization plans on opening the center in 2027.
“We’re really excited about that,” he said.
‘Able to Help’
Lampkin and the Higher Purpose team have managed to create an economic network with around 20 organizations across the Mississippi Delta through those three aforementioned pillars of storytelling, education and grantmaking.
Pollard’s Start 2 Finish Farm has been one of the organizations that has benefitted from the resources that Higher Purpose has provided.
“It’s been pretty good!” Pollard said enthusiastically. “Tim provided us with some of the resources that we need to continue to grow, (and we were) able to purchase some materials to help other farmers that we work with.”
While the farmer has made a strong connection with Higher Purpose, he has also partnered with other organizations across the state that focus on food insecurity and access to healthy food throughout the Delta.
“We work with the Delta GREENS Food Is Medicine project, where we aggregate from other producers, add food to boxes, and deliver them. We deliver to Mound Bayou, Cleveland, Greenville, Indianola and Moorhead,” he said.
Participating in this project for the past three years has allowed Pollard to create a network of 15 farmers that benefit from knowledge, experience and resource-sharing.
“There were farmers and gardeners that were lacking the resources that they needed to be able to have a successful commercial operation,” he reflected. “I wanted to be able to help out as much as possible, whether it’s seeds, fertilizer, plants or equipment.”
Pollard was present at this year’s Higher Purpose Fest alongside many other farmers and community members such as Dorothy Thonton, Willie B. Milton and Joyce Pryor, who all expressed their excitement for the event as they sat under the shade of a tree, watching the on-stage live entertainment.
“I’m just having a tremendous time,” Thornton told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 6. “I done been around the watermelon, the cantaloupe, the ’maters. I got an arm painting, and I heard the music and everything.”
Milton chimed in expressing the importance of events like Higher Purpose Fest in Clarksdale. “I believe it’ll draw more people out into the community,” he said.
Pryor agreed with the sentiments of her friends, saying how much she was enjoying the festival. “Everything is going real good,” she said. “It’s real nice.”
Multiple Mississippi-based musicians performed at the event, including Marion Cork, Nick Markeith & Cuz Band, Mike Steele, and Edna Nicole & Delta Avenue. Talisa Shivers and Turnip Vegan held cooking demonstrations, Jalen Hudson led a talk on practical gardening tips, Maya Morris and Candace Saulsberry led yoga lessons to help participants recharge, and DJ Amber Love kept the energy going throughout the day.
Food trucks and vendors manning stalls sold their goods on-site, such as Christine Campell, founder and owner of D.R.O.P Fitness, who kept everyone hydrated and replenished with her healthy, all-natural juice collection.
Wellness labs also provided dental and family-planning services on-site while children played in the “family zone.”
‘The Chief Good-Time Officer’
Event organizer RaShada LeRoy, CEO and founder of LRY Global Event Management Agency, has worked with Higher Purpose since 2024 by curating a unique experience for community members and stakeholders of Higher Purpose Fest in Clarksdale.
“(This event) is so meaningful because it celebrates community,” she told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 6. “It celebrates culture, and not to mention great music.”
LeRoy believes that the Higher Purpose festival in Clarksdale has helped shine a light on a multitude of community assets.
“It’s really designed to showcase good talent that we have in Clarksdale and the surrounding Mississippi Delta,” she said. “It showcases the small businesses that are here, especially with the agriculture that’s here with our farmers market.”
Putting together events like the festival have been the heart of LeRoy’s nine-year-old company.
“Above all things, we’re just making sure that our clients and our guests are having a great time,” she added. You can probably call me like the chief good-time officer.”
As the first day of the Higher Purpose Fest winded down, Lampkin reflected on the moments that meant the most to him.
“It’s seeing the kids play and have a good time. Then also seeing the elders,” Lampkin said. “Our work is intergenerational. That’s super important—to see those generations not just come out, but also enjoying themselves and doing it in a fun, safe environment and exposing them to new things.”
For more information on Higher Purpose Hub and the resources it offers, visit higherpurposehub.org.
Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the Mississippi Delta and read past stories here.
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