Ray Simpkins Amplifies Community Support Through Outpost Partnership
Ray Simpkins, Chief Executive Officer at Outpost Natural Foods, has spent his career in grocery retail, bringing a wealth of experience from national chains to the unique community-focused model of Outpost. As CEO, he leads with a vision centered on healthy, diverse and sustainable business practices while maintaining a strong commitment to the organizations Outpost supports, including Hunger Task Force.
Ray’s path to Outpost included leadership roles at Kroger, Sam’s Club, Home Depot and Dollar General, overseeing operations and strategy across multiple stores and markets. This extensive background gives him a deep understanding of the grocery industry and the importance of aligning business success with community impact. “My role is to create a vision for what Outpost looks like in the future and tie it back to our mission while charting measurable progress,” Ray explains.
Since joining the Hunger Task Force Board of Directors, Ray has embraced the opportunity to extend that expertise to support Milwaukee families, kids and older adults in need. He emphasizes the longstanding partnership between Outpost and Hunger Task Force, calling it Outpost’s “number one partnership” and highlighting the shared commitment to ensuring access to nutritious food for everyone.
“For me, feeding people who are less fortunate has to be a priority,” Ray says. “Especially now, with federal programs like SNAP and WIC facing challenges, delays and underfunding, organizations like Hunger Task Force are more important than ever. Partnering with them allows us to step in and help families in meaningful ways.”
Outpost has donated nearly $460,000 and hundreds of thousands of pounds of fresh and non-perishable food to Hunger Task Force throughout the years.
Ray points to the shared values that unite Outpost and Hunger Task Force. Outpost was founded as a cooperative to support local farmers and vendors, strengthen local economies and keep dollars in the community rather than large conglomerates. That same spirit of local care drives programs like Buy a Bag, where every dollar collected is used to buy groceries for Hunger Task Force, often doubling the impact of community donations. “Our owners and shoppers have a long history of giving cheerfully,” Ray says. “Whether it’s healthy food or general support, it comes from a human-centered place; it’s about giving back to where you live and strengthening your neighborhood.”
Growing up in Columbus, Ohio, in an urban neighborhood, Ray understands firsthand the importance of access to healthy food and the impact that supportive community programs can have. “The inner city is home to me,” he reflects. “If there aren’t enough resources, I feel a responsibility to create opportunities for people to access good food and jobs.” That perspective guides Outpost’s presence in Milwaukee’s Capitol Drive neighborhood, where the store provides one of the healthiest options available for the surrounding neighborhood.
Under Ray’s leadership, Outpost continues to align business practices with social impact, working closely with Hunger Task Force and other local partners to ensure families have access to the food they need. “It’s all about leaning on each other to make a real impact,” he says.
Through initiatives like Buy a Bag, Ray, his team and Outpost’s owners and shoppers join in this mission, creating tangible change for local families and reinforcing the shared belief that access to healthy, nutritious food is a human right.
Meet Other Friends of Free & Local!
Click below to discover real people making a difference in the fight against hunger – new faces added regularly! Keep checking back to meet more incredible individuals making a difference.