I believe we were asked to read this book because community nutrition focuses on the health of people in a certain area and While some areas may be wealthy and successful, there are others that are poor and it is important to understand how these two situations should be handled differently. It offers a different view on community nutrition that perhaps all of us did not fully understand before reading. Nutrition and health are all directly related to a person's socioeconomic status, and this book explains a lot about how interconnected everything truly is. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay From single mothers, to immigrant workers, to fathers trying to provide for their large families, this book speaks to the impoverished from all different walks of life in an effort to show how difficult it can be for people to escape poverty . Shipler highlights health concerns, public policy, immigrant workers and how to fight poverty, among other topics. The author is also careful to point out that he realizes that many of the poorest people have had choices in life and have chosen to do the wrong things, leading them to where they are today - demonstrating that he understands the role that each individual plays in life. your own success. However, his main point is that the lack of wages and job opportunities leaves less room for mistakes in the lives of the poor because every decision they make has a more drastic effect on their lives. Something I hadn't thought about before reading this book is how benefits like healthcare can be easily revoked if you go over the income limit, then just to make a couple thousand dollars more during the year, a he entire family could lose their health benefits. To me this seems counterproductive, because otherwise someone wouldn't be able to work and earn extra money for fear of losing their health benefits, because that loss would cost them much more in the long run. Another specific topic I hadn't thought of before was when the author discussed how preparing taxes for the poor can be such an important task. Many of these people rely on their annual tax returns to pay large bills, and having someone who knows the details of the programs and benefits available to low-income families and individuals is a must. Unfortunately, many times, people cannot afford to pay accountants and their firms the prices they want to file a tax return, so they end up filing a tax return incorrectly or spending much of their return just to pay for the original service. This was really interesting to me because something as simple as paying taxes is a make-or-break moment for a lot of people in these low-income situations. Finally, as a student of nutrition I found the discussion on the effects of a poor environment on children's eating habits extremely interesting. Although malnutrition is a phenomenon typically evident in low-income families, I was unaware of how destructive a poor food environment can be. For example, in chapter eight, the author discusses the constant stream of reproaches a mother directed at her daughter Cathy during mealtime. She was upset that her daughter dropped small pieces of food and made a mess. Its hard.