The late Bob Moore’s interest in whole grain nutrition was inspired by two things: a delicious loaf of whole grain bread baked by his wife, Charlee, and the book John Goffe’s Mill.
“Now, this book was printed about 1940, and I found it about 1955,” said Bob. “This gentleman inherited a mill. It was sitting there derelict, and he decided he would go claim his inheritance. And the story goes about him getting the mill going, the water wheel, the old millstones, and he began making whole wheat flour, whole corn meal, wonderful whole grain products. And gosh, it went really well!”
Inspired to learn all about stone milling, Bob founded Moores’ Flour Mill in 1974 in Redding, California with his wife, Charlee, and two of their sons. “In Fansville, North Carolina, I found a mill, and I bought three sets of millstones, and brought them out to California where we were, and put them to work. That’s how this thing started, and it has never slowed down!”
After establishing Moores’ Flour Mill, Bob and Charlee left it to the kids and moved to Milwaukie, Oregon, intending to retire and attend seminary school. But on a walk one day, they happened upon an old mill for sale. That led to founding Bob’s Red Mill in 1978.
“I always put little ads in the food section of the local paper, reminding people they could get whole grains at Bob’s Red Mill,” said Bob. “Then one day a gentleman by the name of Fred Meyer walked in….. He said he wanted my products in his stores. He had, I think, at that time about 49 stores, and he wanted to put a health food store alongside of his regular grocery stores, and he wanted my stuff in there.”
“I laughed at him! I said, oh goodness, I don’t have the wherewithal, the space, I don’t have enough mills . . . I only had three mills at the time. I said, y’know, I’ll tell you what, come back and see me in six months and I’ll be thinking about it. Well, I think the rest is kind of history.”
Bob’s Red Mill products were soon in Fred Meyer stores all over the region, but then tragedy struck—the original mill burned to the ground in a suspected arson.
“We had to start over, and it took a lot of energy and effort and money to make that work. [What surprised us was] how quickly our customers put us ahead so that we could be successful, knowing what we were going through.”
“That was one of the biggest, most wonderful events, how quickly we got back and got a much larger facility. We were able to buy property, and all in all, we turned a very terrible incident in our life, the company’s life, into a very positive thing. We’re still enjoying the fruits of our success, even from that time.”
In 2010, on his 81st birthday, Moore created an Employee Stock Ownership Plan at Bob’s Red Mill in Oregon, and by 2020, the company was entirely owned by its more than 700 employees. “The Bible says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” he told Portland Monthly, explaining his belief that sharing profits and ownership would “make things more fair and more benevolent.”
Bob’s Red Mill now is a leading global food brand offering 200+ products in more than 70 countries.
“Bob’s legacy will live on forever in all of us who had the opportunity to work with him and is infused into the Bob’s Red Mill brand,” said CEO Trey Winthrop. “He did everything in his power to leave us on a strong path forward. All of us feel responsible and motivated to preserve his old-world approach to unprocessed foods; his commitment to pure, high-quality ingredients; and his generosity to employee owners and educational organizations focused on nutritional health.”
In 2023, Bob was awarded the Whole Grain Pioneer award by the Oldways Whole Grains Council honoured. Oldways, a food and nutrition nonprofit dedicated helping people live healthier and happier lives, gathered several prominent food manufacturers together back in 2002 for a one-day session about the importance of whole grains. That led to the creation of the Whole Grains Council, of which Bob’s Red Mill is a founding member, and their mission of helping consumers find whole grain foods and understand their health benefits.
“Bob’s Red Mill was one of the first companies—along with Sunnyland Mills and the Sorghum Checkoff program—that partnered with Oldways to bring more attention to the health benefits and great taste of whole grains,” said Sara Baer-Sinnott, President of Oldways.
“If I had my life to live over, I would have started way earlier in this business,” Moore told CBS News in 2020. “I mean, you know, I started in the middle of my life.”
Bob and Charlee helped fund the Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition, and Preventive Health in the College of Health and Human Sciences at Oregon State University. Their contributions also helped establish the Bob and Charlee Moore Institute for Nutrition & Wellness at Oregon Health & Science University, as well as many additional research programs throughout the state.
Sources:
45 Years of Natural Leadership: Bob Moore Honored as a Whole Grain Pioneer Bob’s Red Mill blog, Mar. 3 2023
Bob Moore, Founder of Bob’s Red Mill, Has Died, Leaving His Company to Its Employees. Inc, Feb. 13, 2024
Bob Moore, Founder of Bob’s Red Mill, Dies at 94; Leaves Legacy as Proponent of Whole Grain Health PR Newswire, Feb. 10, 2024
Q&A WITH A WHOLE GRAIN PIONEER: BOB MOORE Oldways Whole Grains Council blog, Mar. 2, 2023
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