A recent $2 million gift from John and Carrie Hayden brings hands-on culinary medicine to the heart of Cincinnati’s cancer care.
The couple’s donation funds the John and Carrie Hayden Community Learning Kitchen, which will open in early 2026 at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center’s Blood Cancer Healing Center. The kitchen focuses on the role of nutrition in preventing and treating chronic disease and will serve patients, caregivers, students and the broader community.
The Cancer Center and the Osher Center for Integrative Health at UC will jointly operate the facility, located next to a wellness studio and rooftop healing garden.
The learning kitchen will serve as a hub for research and community engagement. It will host cooking classes, clinical studies and nutrition education sessions. Programs will explore how food affects metabolism, mental health and recovery, with a focus on managing chronic conditions – particularly cancer – through diet and lifestyle.
“We respect the value and importance of conventional medicine,” the Haydens said. “That said, we believe there is immense power in the combination of conventional medicine with the evidence-based complementary therapies of integrative medicine.”
Carrie Hayden, a two-time cancer survivor, credits nutrition and lifestyle changes with playing a key role in her healing.
“The goal of the learning kitchen is to remove the mystery of adopting a more nutritious lifestyle by showing people how it can be done and allowing them to get their hands dirty in the process of experimenting with it.”
A history of commitment to integrative cancer care
The Haydens have long supported the UC Cancer Center. Their previous gifts established the Carrie K. Hayden Endowed Chair of Integrative Oncology Research and the Hayden Family Endowed Chair for Cancer Research.
The Blood Cancer Healing Center, which opened in June 2024, delivers comprehensive care to more than 1.6 million Americans affected annually by blood cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.
Sian Cotton, Ph.D., director of the Osher Center, called the Haydens’ gift “transformational.”
“What the Haydens have done for the Osher Center, cancer care and this community is unparalleled,” Cotton said. “They are simply extraordinary, and we are so grateful.”
The Osher Center belongs to an international collaborative focused on integrating prevention and self-care with conventional medical treatment. The Hayden kitchen will also draw from national research platforms and programs developed through the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative.
Leaders across UC Health credited the Haydens with advancing a more holistic model of care.
“Their generosity advances a holistic approach to care by integrating nutrition and wellness into cancer treatment,” said Dr. Gregory Postel, dean of the UC College of Medicine. “It plays a vital role in our efforts to achieve National Cancer Institute designation.”
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