The Library Vault

… with the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project

What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner? Do you look forward to turkey and gravy? Mashed potatoes? A slice of pumpkin pie? The Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project is working to make sure that families and individuals throughout the city can celebrate with a holiday meal – favorite side dishes included.

Russell Library is collecting 40 oz. cans of sweet potatoes for the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project until November 19. Our goal is to collect 325 cans for this year’s Thanksgiving baskets. In 2025, the project distributed 1,159 baskets to local families and individuals. This year, participating organizations hope to provide 1,300 baskets to community members this year.

In the spirit of giving, the Russell Library Games is offering bonus points to players who donate. Players will earn 150 points for each can of yams that they give!

Sweet Potatoes at Thanksgiving

Sweet potatoes are often a welcome part of Thanksgiving dinner, whether whipped, baked, or as part of a casserole. They’ve been cultivated on farms for centuries — since 2500-1850 BCE according to some archaeological evidence. Early Peruvian farming records document their growth in 750 BCE. However, It’s unclear when sweet potatoes became a regular part of the holiday meal. Documents describing the “first” Thanksgiving in 1621 do not include sweet potatoes with the venison, wildfowl, and corn served that day. Colonial farming records show that sweet potatoes were being cultivated as early as 1648. From there, sweet potatoes flourished, particularly in Southern states, due in part to the temperate climate. They were versatile and could be boiled, mashed or baked. By the late 18th century, sweet potato recipes appeared in cookbooks, such as Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery, which included a pudding for “Pompkins, Potatoes or Yams.”

Thanksgiving celebrations have been held throughout American history, but Thanksgiving didn’t become an annual holiday until the 19th century. In the late 1840s, Sarah Josepha Hale, writer and editor of Ladies Magazine and Godey’s Lady’s Book, advocated for a national, annual Thanksgiving holiday. She published articles and recipes to build her case, including a one for sweet potato pie. Hale also wrote articles to local senators, asking for the establishment of a federal Thanksgiving holiday. Following the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thursday, November 26, a national day of Thanksgiving.

Throughout the late 19th century, variations on candied sweet potatoes appeared in cookbooks, such as Fannie Farmer’s The Boston Cooking- School Cook Book (1896). By the 1910s, candied sweet potato recipes appeared in Martha McCullouch-Williams’ Dishes and Beverages from the Old South (1913) and Florence Greenbaum’s International Jewish Cook Book (1919).

In 1917, sweet potatoes received an unlikely new companion: marshmallows. Janet McKenzie Hill developed a recipe featuring the combination as part of a promotional campaign for the Angelus Marshmallow Company. The pairing wasn’t universally embraced, but marshmallow-topped sweet potatoes eventually became a Thanksgiving tradition in many American households.

But What About Yams?

Though the words are sometimes used interchangeably, sweet potatoes and yams are completely different vegetables. Sweet potatoes are a member of the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae, and originated in South and Central America. Their thin, tender skin can be red, brown, or purple, depending on the variety. The inside tends to be softer compared to a yam’s, which is firm and starchy. True yams are starchy tubers from plants in the Dioscoreaceae family. They are cultivated in tropical regions, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. The outside is rougher and is usually brown. Yams tend to be starchier inside and can grow much longer than sweet potatoes (up to five feet long).

Sweet potatoes thrived in the warm climate of the American South. Enslaved Africans in the American South were familiar with true yams, a staple food in parts of West Africa. The term “yam” eventually became associated with certain varieties of sweet potatoes grown in the South. Southern farmers started using the term “yam” to promote a softer version of the sweet potato that they cultivated in the 19th century. Although yams may be available in international grocery stores, sweet potatoes are much more common.

As you shop for potential donations to the Middletown Community Thanksgiving Project, you’ll notice that canned goods labeled “yams” will clarify that the contents are sweet potatoes. The USDA requires the distinction, since yams and sweet potatoes are completely different vegetables.

So, whether the label on the can says “yams” or “sweet potatoes,” you’re bringing the same delicious vegetable to the Thanksgiving table. Russell Library will be collecting 40 oz. cans through November 19. Help us reach our goal of 325 cans and make this year’s holiday a little sweeter for our Middletown neighbors!

Sources:

Division of Cultural History, Smithsonian Institution. “Thanksgiving: From Local Harvests to National Holiday.” Accessed: 10/17/2026: https://tinyurl.com/ypux22vx.

Eschner, Kat (November 17, 2017). “How Marshmallow-Topped Sweet Potato Casserole Became a Thanksgiving Classic.” Smithsonian Magazine. https://tinyurl.com/3dztr2sh

Foster, Kelli and Patty Catalano (August 5, 2025). “Yams vs. Sweet Potatoes: The Key Differences Everyone Should Know.” the kitchn. https://tinyurl.com/yk97sxb7

Gambino, Megan (November 26, 2024). “What Food Was Served at the First Thanksgiving in 1621?” Smithsonian Magazine. https://tinyurl.com/mr2r7m4w

Geist, Linda (November 17, 2021). “Sweet potato a recent guest at Thanksgiving.” MU Extension Newsletter. https://tinyurl.com/vsekf665

Harbster, Jennifer (November 17, 2009). Candied yams or Candied Sweet Potatoes? Library of Congress Blogs: Inside ADAMS Science Technology and Business. https://tinyurl.com/4msu6e73

Harbster, Jennifer (November 24, 2010). A Sweet Potato History. Library of Congress Blogs: Inside ADAMS Science Technology and Business. https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2010/11/a-sweet-potato-history/

Hatsis, Cooper (November 21, 2023). “A Brief History of Thanksgiving Foods.” The Signpost. https://tinyurl.com/7yjt944c

Hatsis, Cooper (November 21, 2023). “A Brief History of Thanksgiving Foods.” The Signpost. https://tinyurl.com/7yjt944c

Laskow, Sarah (November 23, 2016). “Read the original Pitch for Thanksgiving, From the Editress Who Created the Holiday.” Atlas Obscura. https://tinyurl.com/cuxzptw9

North Carolina Sweetpotato Commission (2026). “Sweetpotatoes 101: History of Sweetpotatoes.” https://tinyurl.com/4pda5btr

Rubenstein, James (November 16, 2024). “How Sweet Potatoes Rose to Popularity at Thanksgiving.” Oxford Free Press. https://www.oxfreepress.com/sweet-potatoes-thanksgiving-recipe/

Science Reference Section, Library of Congress (Published: November 19, 2019. Updated: August 19, 2026). “What is the difference between sweet potatoes and yams?” https://tinyurl.com/373javzh

Sontag, Elazar (September 4, 2026). “Are You Buying Yams or Sweet Potatoes? Here’s How to Tell—and Why It’ll Make You a Better Cook.” serious eats. https://tinyurl.com/5af5fpvj

Stanley, Jennifer (March 4, 2016). “1796 Sweet Potato Pudding.” Savoring the Past. https://savoringthepast.net/2016/03/04/sweet-potato-pudding/

1. Photo Credit: Lauri Patterson/ Getty Images; Accessed at: The Spruce Eats. “11 Classic Thanksgiving Recipes for a Complete Feast.” https://www.thespruceeats.com/classic-thanksgiving-menu-with-recipes-3061631 ↩︎
2. Photo Credit: Static Media/ Shutterstock. Accessed at: Mashed, “The Best and Worst Canned Sweet Potatoes, According to Customers.” https://www.mashed.com/1457268/best-worst-canned-sweet-potatoes/ ↩︎
3. Stanley, Jennifer (March 4, 2016). “1796 Sweet Potato Pudding.” Savoring the Past. https://savoringthepast.net/2016/03/04/sweet-potato-pudding/ ↩︎
4. Photo Credit: The cover of Godey’s Lady’s Book in 1867. Public domain ↩︎
5. Photo Credit: Cover of 1919 booklet from the Barrett Company on Sweet Potato and Yams. Harbster, Jennifer (November 24, 2010). A Sweet Potato History. Library of Congress Blogs: Inside ADAMS Science Technology and Business. https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2010/11/a-sweet-potato-history/ ↩︎
6. Photo Credit: Jenkins, Sarah (December 4, 2025). Front Range Fed. “Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Casserole.” https://www.frontrangefed.com/old-fashioned-sweet-potato-casserole/ ↩︎
7. Photo Credit: Colin Purrington. “The Difference Between Sweet Potatoes and Yams.” https://colinpurrington.com/yams-versus-sweet-potatoes/ ↩︎
8. Photo Credit: Mile 12 African Store. “White Ghana Yam.” https://tinyurl.com/mr2rbcya ↩︎
9. Photo Credit: McCall Farms. “Bruce’s Yams Cut Sweet Potatoes in Syrup.” https://www.mccallfarms.com/product/bruces-yams-cut-sweet-potatoes-in-syrup/ ↩︎