A good food item

Pumpkins have many vitamins and minerals. Therefore, they were a good food item for the settlers to include in their meals.

I wonder why there is "item" at the end of the underlined phrase. Could I delete without making a change in meaning? If yes, why bother having it? Thanks.

Neeraj Jain wrote:

Here we are not referring to food alone. We are referring to a specific food, which is pumpkins. That's why, "a good food item" is used here.

Thanks, Jain.

The idea is tricky for me.

But if I omit it, do I make a change in meaning?