Meet Adrian Moore, one of Food Outreach’s new board members

Adrian Moore first heard about Food Outreach from a longtime family friend and Food Outreach Board Member Gordon Phillips. Adrian and Gordon grew up in Connecticut, where their mothers were both teachers at the same school and best friends. Years later, they both ended up living in St. Louis with children of their own attending the same school. They reconnected, and Gordon invited Adrian to join the Food Outreach community.

However, at that time, Adrian was dealing with her own cancer diagnosis. “I am a cancer survivor. When I was going through cancer treatments last year, I realized how important it is to take things off your plate and focus on your treatment and recovery. Nutrition is so important. Thankfully, I had a really good support network and my friends would come drop off food. I gave them recipe choices I could eat because I was on a special diet during treatment. I know that not everyone has access to that kind of support, not to mention proper nutrition. When I learned more about Food Outreach through Gordon and saw how they provide that kind of support to people facing similar health challenges, I felt really connected to the mission.”

Now cancer-free and feeling good, Adrian recently joined the Food Outreach Board and is eager to get started. She is excited to learn more about the organization from the inside out.

Her professional background complements Food Outreach’s mission of providing nutritious food to those in need. With a career rooted in retail and consumer insight, Adrian understands the importance of food access, equity, and smart sourcing. She started as a clothing buyer for Famous-Barr and then for Macy’s Department Store. Currently, she works at Schnucks as the Senior Director of Merchandising Enablement and Supplier Diversity. In this role, Adrian analyzes customer data to understand what Schnucks’s shoppers want to buy, and leads the category planning and vendor negotiation processes.

One of Adrian’s key initiatives is Schnucks Springboard—a local and diverse-owned business accelerator. “I’m really passionate about supplier diversity and being intentional about building a supplier base that reflects Schnucks’ diverse customer base. Those efforts are backed by the Schnucks’ business accelerator—an initiative I proposed, helped develop, and now lead. Springboard provides funding and classes on the grocery business to a group of small, mostly local businesses. The cohort then gets a shelf trial in select stores. It’s exciting to see those businesses get a chance to shine and receive customer feedback on their products.”

When she is not at work, Adrian likes to relax by taking walks, playing tennis, and spending time with friends. She has two sons and spends as much time with them as they’ll allow.