The American Academy of Pediatrics changed their official position on when to introduce certain foods in the past few years - it used to be you had to wait to give peanut-based products, strawberries, etc.
Today, the rule of thumb is to give anything that neither presents a choking hazard nor is a known family food allergen.
At 9 months, our kids were gnawing and gumming at slices of apples/pears, eating cooked frozen vegetables, shaven lunch meats from the deli along with cheese sticks/real American cheese (white American also from the deli).
I honestly NEVER gave my kids anything Gerber other than the puffs and the baby foods - if you look at the nutritional content there tends to be a lot of sodium/carbs (sugar) to help preserve, and we always keep lots of fresh thing around.
Our kids were young when we introduced a lot of foods (loved canned peaches in juice), mostly fresh fruits, pastas, scrambled eggs.
Double check with your pediatrician, but once they get the hang of chewing, they can usually have anything you are within reason.
Good luck - the next few months are going to be so much fun for you!