Centered on the ideals of shared meals and communal eating, every day students gallop down the grandiose staircase and happily greet friends and mere acquaintances with a subtle wave, “hello”, or a hug. Gradually, and shyly students sit alone looking around with the hopes to spot anyone else to join her or him at their table.

On February 1, 2011 Mark Bittman made monumental headway in the United States government rewriting food rules that impact all Americans and the way in which they eat.

Pasta e Basta offers an array of Italian-American dishes in the center of downtown Amherst, Massachusetts. My meal, the Scallops Special, was presented on a white oval plate. The mountainous serving of angel hair pasta was topped with sautéed baby spinach wrapped in a silky tomato sauce with the strong flavor of Parmesan cheese. Moist and juicy scallops scattered the top of the plate with a few perfectly cooked shrimp.

The MHN sat down with Jarrod Gorbel in his dressing room before his show on November 15th at the Calvin.

Along with the new choices of classes offered for the Food minor at Mount Holyoke, within the 5-College Consortium students will find a multitude of opportunities to take food and agricultural related courses. This semester alone, 68 courses about food were offered within the five colleges.

If you like art for both your eyes and your taste buds, Judie’s Restaurant, located on Main Street in downtown Amherst, will satisfy your hunger and appetite.

Chef Jeff, also known as Jeff Sadowski was the manager of the Blanchard Café, and the creator of the famous softball sized cookies that have become a staple of a Mount Holyoke diet for many years. At Uncommon Grounds, you can find such flavors of decadent cookies like Health Bar, Chocolate Chunk, Oreo, Oatmeal Crasin and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip.

The arrival of fall is apparent when the leaves begin to change from green to gold and red and a cold breeze gusts through the air. With the shifting of seasons, different crops and produce are arriving. The two biggest flavors (and crops) associated with the sensation of the autumn spirit are pumpkin and apple. [...]

As college students and Mount Holyoke women, we are now on our own, in charge of our education, well-being and life. With life, comes eating and food. Living in the Pioneer Valley, fresh foods and ingredients surround the Five-College area, through farmer’s markets, farm stands, whole foods stores like Trader Joes, and Co-Ops like the River-Valley Market supplied with produce from the local area.

Even with the hustle and bustle of downtown Northampton, it is hard to miss a whiff of Local Burger, the Valley’s newest burger joint. From a block down the street in either direction, the mouthwatering aroma of grilling meats and fries dropping into the fryer fumed through my senses. Once I saw the large black and white “Local” sign and stepped inside, the sensation only got better. I was instantly hungry. Inside, the bright red walls, adorned with pop art depictions of hamburgers hung, instantly caught my eye. I was drawn to the black and white checked floor—the look and atmosphere felt like a modern version of 60’s burger and hangout restaurants, with a juke box placed in the corner aside the large countertop. An array of stools, high-top tables and tables with chairs were placed around the restaurant, and almost every seat had an occupant.