Gilmore Girls reruns, Twilight-inspired fashion, and trips to apple orchards are all things to look forward to when fall begins. With the start of the season also comes the transition from light summer snacks to warmer fall meals. 

Usually when people think of fall foods, they think of Thanksgiving. However, the fall season brings a lot more than just one holiday meal.

Foods like apples, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins are all key in-season ingredients for our favorite fall foods. Apples are used to make apple cider, while sweet potatoes are used to make casserole. Pumpkins are used for both decoration (Jack-O-Lanterns) and consumption, shown through the enjoyment and presence of pumpkin spice coffee drinks, baked goods, etc in our fall menu.

When asked about their favorite fall foods, many students had similar answers. Senior Helena Wolfe-Feichter, said “pumpkin pie is a fall food I look forward to because it reminds me of my favorite holiday, Thanksgiving.” 

Similarly, sophomore Eden Grim said “I love pumpkin bread in the fall because my grandma used to make it all the time for the [fall] season.” Likewise, junior Kelsie George said “I look forward to apple pie; not necessarily eating it, but the process of picking apples and making it with my dad and sister.” 

Through talking with my peers about their favorite fall foods, I started to consider my own and the meaning behind them. Some of my favorite fall foods are chili, apple pie, mashed potatoes, and anything else you could find on a Thanksgiving dinner table. When I thought about why these are my favorite fall foods, I realized that these are the foods I enjoy when I am surrounded by family, which is a similar reason to the people I interviewed. Fall foods are not only a delicious perk of the fall season, but an important connection between us and our loved ones. •