What an honor to be blogging for American Farmland Trust. My company, Peeled Snacks, has been buying American-grown fruit since I founded it in 2005, and we’re very proud to now be working with AFT on our shared goal of protecting American farmland. Back when I started Peeled Snacks in 2005, my experiences working for big consumer-packaged-goods companies taught me that real food is surprisingly hard to come by, and even tougher to sell. When I started Peeled Snacks, I wanted to offer food, and not some food-like product. Luckily, in the United States we have some of the greatest food suppliers in the world keeping us fed: American farmers. In starting Peeled Snacks, I set out to offer people who were on-the-go a snack option that they could feel good about. To me, that meant creating snacks from all-natural and organic ingredients that you recognize. I wanted large, easy-to-eat pieces of fruit and nuts that provide a natural source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber—with NO added sugar or fat. My first snacks were mixes of fruit and nuts, and later we added the single-serving Fruit Picks, which enabled us to introduce a wide range of organic fruits to the snack world. In developing our snacks, I had the privilege of working with farmers to find fruits that could be grown sustainably and offered a solid nutritional benefit. As our company grew, it became apparent to me that sourcing from American farms is becoming more difficult. So many U.S. farmers are being driven out by development and lower priced imports. Several years ago, we couldn’t find any more dried apples from U.S. farms. It seemed inconceivable to me that we would have to source apples from abroad. What happened to Johnny Appleseed’s vision? Since then, we worked hard to find more American sources and increased our commitment to partner with them. That’s why I was so excited when I learned about American Farmland Trust. As a food company, we are so deeply connected to where our food comes from. American Farmland Trust’s “No Farms, No Food” message strongly resonates with our philosophy at Peeled Snacks that we should eat food that’s as natural as possible and grow it as close to home as possible. We’re now partnering with American Farmland Trust to help save the farms that sustain us. We created the American Farms Sampler and are donating 10 percent of sales from this pack to American Farmland Trust. The American Farms Sampler features our delicious American grown cherries and apples. I hope that you’ll help us in this effort, and I encourage everyone to buy and eat real food. Thanks to organizations like American Farmland Trust, you don’t have to settle for less. About the Author: Noha Waibsnaider is the Founder and CEO of Peeled Snacks, a healthy snack food company headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. Peeled Snacks are available nationwide in Starbucks, Hudson News, Nordstrom, Amazon.com and at PeeledSnacks.com.