It has traditionally been difficult to raise the interest of medical students in nutrition because they feel burdened with their basic science course and test load. New ways to engage students and increase their interest in learning nutrition are needed. In order to engage students during learning and highlight current topics of interest in the area of nutrition and cancer, consumer marketing approaches, table tents and food sampling were implemented with the medical students in their required medical nutrition course. New foods were provided for tasting which related to the content of the table tents. Colorful table tents were produced and placed on long student tables before class, with one tent per three students. The content of the table tents included information on ''hot'' topic foods such as shakes and yogurt fortified with isolated soy protein to increase the isoflavone content. Students were asked to and review the information on the tents and participate in a nutrition break where fortified shakes and yogurt were provided. A questionnaire was given addressing content of the tents and attitudinal questions designed to promote thoughtful consideration about personal recommendations for supplement and functional food use. Out of 45 students, 64% volunteered to complete the questionnaire and participate in the nutrition break. Seventy-two percent of these agreed that table tents provided an easy way to learn facts. The attitude of the students towards functional foods and supplements were addressed. Most students said they paid attention to new foods and would recommend antioxidant and phytochemical enhanced foods to their patients (76% and 86%, respectively). Students were not as comfortable with supplements in pills including antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals. Almost all students (99%) would recommend patients seek the advice of a registered dietitian to learn about functional foods. We were successful in getting students to engage in learning by providing a user friendly learning style and focusing on ''hot'' topic foods in the field of diet and cancer. The use of table tents and food tasting to engage students was an unique technique to capture attention and highlight important points.