Strickland Pride Produce
316 E. Main St., Lexington
Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday
Jeanette Coleman used to stop by a produce stand once a week to buy apples, tomatoes and cabbage. Now, her grandson, Donald Randall, still comes every week in memory of her.
They are far from alone in their regular pilgrimage for produce. Oglethorpe County native Timothy Ballard also comes to the same stand every Friday to pick up green and red tomatoes, and honey when available.
“What’s so special about this stand is it’s fresh,” Ballard said. “Usually when you stop by a stand like this you get vegetables and fruits that are usually frozen so when you get home you thaw them out and you can tell the difference. This stuff is always fresh and beautiful.”
Kendall Strickland is the founder, owner and operator of Strickland Pride Produce, a store and supplier to food businesses based in Lexington. He carries a wide selection of vegetables and fruits, primarily grown in Georgia and the surrounding states.
More important, Strickland hopes to inspire other young people, especially Black entrepreneurs like himself, to engage in agriculture.
One of his main goals is to develop his business into an employer for young people interested in pursuing careers in agriculture.
“I definitely would want to show other young Black students, especially students aspiring to work in agriculture the ins and outs of the produce business, and also some of the basics of managing a business in general, especially a small business,” Strickland said. “I've always enjoyed outreach and working with younger people and showing them all the opportunities that can be found in agriculture.”
Early dream
Strickland said he always knew he was going to own his own business. When he was a child in Illinois, he dreamed about owning a country store or a produce market.
“I grew up around agriculture pretty much all of my life, and it started with my grandparents taking me to produce stands such as apple sheds and peach stands and other roadside veggie stands when I was a kid growing up in the Midwest,” Strickland said.
He applied to several agricultural universities, including Florida A&M, a historically Black college or university in Tallahassee. He then received a full tuition scholarship from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that was a partnership between FAMU and the USDA and included internships and employment after graduation.
“So, of course, I followed the money, and I followed the opportunity,” Strickland said.
He graduated from FAMU in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business.
Strickland went to work full-time for the USDA as an agricultural statistician. In that role, he conducted surveys with farmers, collected farm data, and published agricultural data at the state and county levels.
“It was a good career. It opened a lot of doors for me,” he said. “I witnessed a lot of great opportunities, but I'm glad that I ultimately left and did pursue my own passion.”
New path
While working for the USDA, Strickland moved to Oglethorpe County. Then-Lexington city councilman Jason Booth suggested he sell produce in town because it was in need of a good, fresh produce market.
Strickland took him up on that challenge and built his customer base, garnering almost 100 customers a week. He wants his business to be a point on the map for travelers passing through Lexington.
“The community has been very supportive,” Strickland said. “It's been a lot of personal connections, personal relationships that I've made with people here in the community all across this county and surrounding counties. And it really is what I wanted my business to feel like. I always wanted my customer interactions to be relationship based and not transactional based. I like knowing my customers.”
Christina Hylton, owner of Iron Lion Farms, a local regenerative, nonprofit educational farm, and friend of Strickland, said he is “carrying a legacy forward” and “building a familiar face in the community.”
They met at his produce stand, where they learned they have much in common through their work with the USDA’s National Resource Conservation Service and the Farm Service Agency.
“He understands the importance of providing access to healthy foods in rural areas,” she said. “He’s interested in bringing young people back into agriculture.”
Strickland said, “Strickland Pride Produce is self explanatory in its company values. I have pride in the products and service that I provide, and I have pride in my family name, which provided my passion and knowledge base for the work that I do.”