Rising ICON #10: Marcus Carpenter
What name do you prefer to be called?
Marcus
What are your pronouns?
He/Him
Where did you grow up?
Elkhart, Indiana. The mobile home and manufactured home capital of the world!
What city are you currently based in?
Hamel, Minnesota
How do you typically introduce yourself to new people?
Hey, Im Marcus. So nice to meet you!
What’s one thing you wish more people knew about you?
I have a deep-seeded love for the arts, especially the stage. I am a huge fan of the theatre and try to get to as many shows as possible.
Who do you help?
I am laser focused on helping two main constituents. Black, Brown and Indigenous farmers who are looking to grow their farming business and Communities of Color in the US who are in desperate need of clean, regeneratively grown, culturally relevant food.
What are you building now?
Alongside an amazing team of brilliant people, we are building Route 1; a next generation social enterprise that is looking to increase food access within communities of color across the United States.
What were you building ten years ago today?
Ten years ago, I was just beginning my stint with Jostens, the leader in the graduation and celebration products space.
What do you predict of yourself 10 years from now?
10 years from now, along with my team, we will have perfected our BIPOC farm-to-table food delivery model to communities of color. We will have made great strides in increasing healthy equity and decreasing food related diseases like high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and liver disease.
What’s a fact or statistic you wish everyone knew about your industry?
Children of color in the US are 4X more likely to experience food insecurity than white children. Today’s youth of color will be significant contributors to the global challenges of tomorrow, however, if we don’t work to solve for food insecurity in communities of color, none of these dreams will be possible.
Why do you believe the work you do matters?
Our work significantly impacts the fight for social and racial justice in our country. If we truly want to create a more equitable United States, it starts with healthy food access.
Who is your mentor and what is the best advice they’ve given you?
My mentor was/is my Dad, Albert Carpenter, who passed on in July of 2023. He was as blue collar as they come, the hardest working person I’ve ever met and a 3rd generation farm kid from Northeast Arkansas. The best advice he gave me was to “Never ever let anyone outwork you. In life, there will be a lot of things that we can’t control, however, your level of effort is totally dependent on you. The level of effort, in any endeavor, will be the ultimate deciding factor between success and failure. ”
What piece of content about you or your company are you most proud of?
Recently RFD-TV, a flagship network for Rural Media Group, did a story covering the Route 1 partnership with American Family Institute for Corporate and Social Impact and their recent investment in our work.
What publication do you hope to appear in next?
The New York Times
Who would you love to be interviewed by?
Oprah is easily the greatest journalist of our time however I would love to sit down with Lester Holt, Audie Cornish or Anderson Cooper.
If you had to give a TEDTalk tomorrow, what would the title be?
You want to increase racial and social equity? It all starts with Food.
What award would mean the most to win?
I’m not really into awards on this side of Life, however, if I were to receive the World Food Prize, it could potentially signify that my work has made a significant impact in the space of food, agriculture and health equity.
What makes zero sense to you?
The fact that we live in a world where we actually grow 3X the amount of food that we need to feed the global population yet we still have humans in our world who don't have enough to eat? It’s mind blowing, depressing, motivating, and infuriating all at the same time.
What’s a word in your industry you hope gets re-evaluated?
Regenerative. I believe it’s wonderful that we are working to codify what regenerative actually means, however, with that being said, I’m hoping that “the experts” land in a place where we can make the space of regenerative agriculture more inclusive than exclusive.
What game are you changing?
The clean food delivery system in the United States.
What’s the next thing you’re a part of that you want to invite more people to participate in?
Route 1 will be launching our volunteer calendar for 2024 during Black History Month. We’d love to have as many individuals, families, communities, corporations, municipalities, universities, and community organizations as possible participate in our work this year.
Where can we follow you online?
Most active on LinkedIn and Instagram.
What’s one thing that makes every leader better?
Humility. The greatest global leaders to date have led with a spirit of humility and servant leadership.
__________
We’re grateful to each Rising ICON for their transformative work. Thank you, Marcus, for sharing your story!
LAUREL is a media relations partner for bold leadership. We build effective strategies for scale and growth specializing in digital executive presence and go to market strategy. To follow along with the Rising ICONS series, nominate a leader or subscribe to our weekly emails below. To accelerate your own rise, get our free guide to visibility Force to ICON: the TLDR.
“You want to increase racial and social equity? It all starts with Food.”
Notice: It’s important for our readers to understand the origin of the interview content. The featured ICON contributed responses that were not edited from the original submission. All claims are made solely by the contributor and do not reflect the views of LAUREL or its partners. Thank you for supporting rising leaders. The future is bold.
