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 rich and prosperous, there are others that are poor, and it is important to understand how differently these two situations should be treated. It brings a different perspective on community nutrition that we all may not have completely understood before reading it. Nutrition and health are all directly related to a person's socioeconomic status, and this book explains a lot about how it's all really interconnected. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on "Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned"? Get the original essay From single mothers, to immigrant workers, to fathers trying to support their large families, this book covers the poor from all walks of life. in an effort to show how difficult it can be for people to escape poverty. Shipler highlights health issues, public policy, immigrant workers and how to combat 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 they chose to do the wrong things, leading them to where they are today. hui - demonstrating an understanding of the role each individual plays in their own success. However, his main point is that the lack of wages and job opportunities leaves less room for error 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. This is how benefits like health care can easily be revoked if you earn more than the income limit, so just to earn a few thousand extra dollars over the course of the year, an entire family could lose their benefits health. This seems counterproductive to me, because then someone wouldn't be able to work and earn more money for fear of losing their health benefits, because that loss would cost them much more in the long run. Another specific topic that I hadn't thought about before was when the author was explaining how preparing taxes for the poor can be such an important task. Many of these people rely on their annual tax return to pay big bills and have someone who knows things. It is essential to know the ins and outs of the programs and benefits offered to low-income families and individuals. Unfortunately, many times people can't afford to pay accountants and their firms the prices they want to file a tax return at, so they either end up filing an incorrect return or spending a large portion of their return only to pay for the original service. That was really interesting to me because something as simple as doing your taxes is a watershed moment for a lot of people in these low-income situations. Finally, as a student of nutrition, I found the discussion of the effect of a poor environment on children's eating habits to be extremely interesting. Although malnutrition is usually apparent in low-income households, I had no idea how destructive a poor food environment could be. For example, in chapter eight, the author discusses the constant stream of scolding that a mother has..