We are Local Food Now–a farm-to-school cooperative of North Fork Valley bakers, farmers, ranchers, teachers, students, and community members. Located in the fertile valley of Paonia, Colorado, we offer nutritional education to support the health of our growing young people and help prevent disease. Currently, much of our children’s food doesn’t come from the earth. Why? What is going on behind the scenes in the laboratories where “food” is manufactured? In the last decade, diabetes, obesity, allergies, and cancer rates have skyrocketed among young adults. The heavily processed, high-carb, and sugar-based GMO ingredients used in public-school meals has been shown to be a major contributor to the primary health issues of our generation. Local Food Now confronts this crisis by working with families and school boards to collaborate with hard-working farmers—our neighbors and local producers who offer us delicious, nutritious abundance. Along with free, family-interactive, outdoor educational programs that teach how our local food supply works, our purpose is to provide free, fresh, organic, locally-sourced meals to students. Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard is the model we use to build a thriving healthy-food community.