Press & Publications
Interviews, press, and peer-reviewed articles.
Press & Interviews
In the Media
Food, Wellbeing and the Future
Earl E Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing
June 23, 2026 | Article by Katie Dahlman in Mandala Magazine
For over a decade, the Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing has hosted food, food-systems and nutrition education through hands-on cooking and interprofessional experiences. Kate Shafto MD and Jenny Breen Chef/MPH continue to grow and expand this work.
Digesting the Topic of Processed Foods
Healthy Matters Podcast with Dr. David Hilden
May 2, 2023 | Season 2, Episode 2
Is drinking Apple Juice the same as eating apple sauce? Do canned and frozen foods retain their nutritional content? And where in nature does the color of blue Gatorade come from? (Nowhere.) Dr. Kate Shafto helps detangle the conversation.
Eating through the Ages. Let's Talk About Food!
Healthy Matters Podcast
with Dr. David Hilden
September 4, 2022 | Season 1, Episode 20
100 years ago we ate very differently than we do today. Learn about the importance of a healthy gut and get tips for how you can make better eating choices for you and your community.
A Doctor & Nutritionist Team Up
Food Service News
Sep 30, 2019 | By Nancy Weingartner Monroe
Dr. Kate Shafto and Chef Jenny Breen are teaching doctors to health professionals how to take care of themselves first so they can prescribe healthy lifestyles to their patients.
Doctors in the Kitchen
Association of American Medical Colleges
June 5, 2018 | By Elizabeth Agnvall
Medical schools are offering hands-on nutrition training in hopes it will inspire patient conversations about the role of diet in disease prevention. Kate Shafto, MD started Food Matters for Health Professionals, a class offered to health professional graduate students by the University of Minnesota's Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing. The initial class was held in the kitchen of an agricultural food hub, the Good Acre, where local farmers can sell their produce to universities and institutions.
At the U, Future Doctors and Nurses Learning to Treat Patients with Food
Star Tribune
January 2, 2018 | By Allie Shah
Taught by a doctor and a chef, U class focuses on better health through healthier eating. “There is a growing movement across the United States to incorporate cooking and food into health care," said Shafto, an assistant professor at the U's Medical School. "Food is one of the most important things, because it's something we engage in every day of our lives.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
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Shafto K, Vandenburgh N, Wang Q, Breen J. Experiential Culinary, Nutrition and Food Systems Education Improves Knowledge and Confidence in Future Health Professionals. Nutrients 2023, 15, 3994.
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Jore L, Shafto K, Breen J, Friedrichsen S, Pearson J. Effects of Pilot Nutrition Curriculum on Medical Student Knowledge and Ability at the University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth Campus. Journal of Regional Medical Campuses 2022; Vol. 6, Issue 1 (2023). DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jrmc.v6i1.4663
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Shafto K, Shah A, Smith J, Wang Q, Devries S, Kreitzer MJ, Baxley F. Impact of an Online Nutrition Course to Address a Gap in Medical Education: A Feasibility Study. PRiMER 2020;4:5.
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Shafto K, Gouda S, Catrine K, Brown ML. Integrative Approaches in Pediatric Palliative Care. Children. 2018;5(6):75.
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Shafto K, Breen JE, Decker D. Reimagining Nutrition Education in a Teaching Kitchen: Findings from a Pilot Study. Minn Med. Sep-Oct 2016;99(6):44-5.
