Noble Bars are a food product born in Tacoma, the brainchild of a Tacoman, and are available - for the time being - only in local stores. But give it time. These bars are tasty and all-natural in a way that most "all-natural" products can only envy.

Noble Bar was founded by Dana Epperson, a local veteran who left active-duty at then Fort Lewis in 2003. As an Army captain, he deployed to Afghanistan and spent time at Camp Casey, Korea. He currently lives in Tacoma and works for the Department of Veterans Affairs and is in the process of entering the Washington Army National Guard.

Epperson values whole and healthy food in his own diet. One day, after trying to eat an unnamed all-natural, vegan bar, he decided he could do better. In 2009, with no experience beyond cooking dinner for his family, he created a food business centered on minimally processed ingredients.

At first, each and every bar was made by hand in his home by Epperson and his wife. In 2010, they stopped making the bars and found a local factory to take on production.

"We use premium American ingredients from the Northwest and farms in California, Michigan and New York," he said.

And Noble Bars have something other bars definitely don't have - history. There are currently three types of Noble Bars on the market: Centurion Fig, Viking Cherry and Kobukson Asian Pear. The bars aren't just titled after ancient civilizations for kicks. Epperson studied the diets of each culture, carefully choosing ingredients that everyday citizens would have eaten regularly, and incorporating these ingredients into his bars. Ingredients are basic and ancient: fruit, nuts, grain and that's it. If you buy the cherry bar, you're eating cherries. If you buy the fig bar, you're eating figs. It sounds simple, but read the ingredients on other bars. You'll find it's actually quite revolutionary.

"Everyone in the world has been touched by the cultures I based my bars on, either genetically or culturally," Epperson said. "I think now it is even more relevant to consumers because we all want to eat minimally processed foods that are good for us. Well, you can't get much better in terms of whole foods than looking to what our ancestors ate."

Epperson values several skills he learned in the Army that help him run his business today.

"If I had employees, I know how to lead them, but since it's just me and my wife, I lead her around," he said. "Or so I think. Guys in the Army will laugh at this, because it is true, but learning Powerpoint actually helped me a great deal in setting up packaging designs, a business plan and other media items.  Most officers are 33rd Degree Blackbelts in all things Microsoft Office, especially Powerpoint. Sad but true."

If you live in the Tacoma area, the bars are available at Tacoma City Grocer, Stadium Thriftway, Dave's Meat, Tacoma Boys, H&L Produce in Lakewood and Forza in DuPont. Non-locals can order the bars online at www.noble-bar.com/index.html.

"I plan on expanding out of Washington and would love for the company to be on par with some of the other bar companies out there," Epperson said. "My ultimate goal is to build a factory here in Tacoma. I want our brand to be recognizable to everyone. Down the road, I intend on bringing out an oatmeal recipe I have perfected. Even further, I'd love to have a microbrew line based on the same concept as Noble bar."