This collection of essays was assembled to provide coverage of the subject of community nutrition--the whole of nutritional sciences applied to consumers as groups or individuals. The two main concerns are the food itself and the consumer (his physical, mental, and social well-being). It is pointed out that biochemists have analyzed food and physique but little has been done to study the mental and social aspects of feeding. Discussions of these aspects are found under the following headings: (1) Nutrition at the Community Level (concepts and content, community characteristics, historical perspective, population and food supply, assessment of food and nutrition situation, and assessment of nutritional status); (2) Malnutrition in the Community (multi-factorial causation, epidemiology, infections and immunity, mental development, and dietary toxins); (3) Measures to Combat Malnutrition (policy and program planning, new food sources, malnutrition centers, food fortification, group feeding, disease prevention, obesity control, malnutrition education, and food control); (4) Role of Agencies (Government, the United Nations, and private organizations); and (5) Country Experiences (malnutrition in the Caribbean, Ethiopia, India, Philippines, the Untied Kingdom, and the United States). The contents are indexed, and numerous charts, tables, and graphs supplement the narrative. (MM)