Al Dente is a food journal produced and published by undergraduate students at the University of Alabama. The second issue, Our Roots, brings together voices from students, writers, and artists who are breaking through the surface of memory and tradition to uncover how food connects us to place. This issue includes poetry, visual art, nonfiction, and flash that root through personal histories. From dinner table conversations that carry the weight of generations to reflections on positioning yourself within family and community, each piece explores how food grounds us in where we come from and who we are becoming.