This week’s bundle of non-profit news — most of it national this time around!

The Unemployed Cutting Corners in their Diets (DCentric): “Eating healthy can be a matter of having access to stores, but it’s also about having enough money to buy healthy food and having the time to cook it.” And to quote from the Huffington Post’s article, “Since housing costs tend to be fixed, many underemployed and unemployed people save money by eating cheaper and unhealthy foods.” That latter point is especially striking. Housing rarely comes cheap or simple, but food does. And inexpensive, convenient foods tends to be less healthy. Obviously, fixing the price of food benefits no one — so how can we keep the flexibility, but improve the health?

The Giving Pledge: Bill Gates, Warren Buffett Visit Obama (Huffington Post): “President Obama will host the nation’s two wealthiest private citizens, Warren Buffett and Bill Gates, at the White House on Monday to receive an update on the Giving Pledge. [...] As the White House and congressional Democrats push for a debt ceiling deal that includes taxes on the wealthiest Americans, the event shines a spotlight on the very people who would bear that burden.” So what should be the topic of chief conversation, the former or latter?

Nonprofits getting loans for health insurance (Washington Times): “In the latest step to implement health care reform, federal officials on Monday rolled out $3.8 billion in loans for nonprofits so they can offer less-expensive plans within the new health insurance exchanges. The aim is to encourage nonprofit cooperatives to be up and running by the time the exchanges launch in 2014. [...] Along with selling coverage through the exchanges, the co-ops also can sell coverage to small businesses.” Sound like a reasonable way to improve accessibility? How about for both for-profit and non-profit small businesses?

Pew study examines emergence of non-profit news (Business Week): We discussed this study more in-depth yesterday, but it’s certainly work a look. As Business Week highlights, “The more ideological sites tended to be funded mostly or entirely by one parent organization. [...] Sites with a more balanced political perspective tended to have multiple funders, more transparency and more content, the study found.” If we move outside the context of news organization, does diversity of funding sources generally imply transparency and a balanced perspective?