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Abigail Nkansah is a Good Food Network VISTA serving with the Good Food Business of Washington project. Her work focuses on connecting local food producers in the Puget Sound region with communities in need. The goal of this project is to strengthen networks between direct service providers, making food easier to locate and distribute while reducing waste, supporting local economies, and increasing access to fresh, healthy food across Washington.

Abigail’s project expanded an existing GBN database cataloging direct food service organizations across WA. As she deepened her work, the data began to reveal clear trends. Each update highlighted a widening gap between larger cities such as Seattle, Tacoma, and Kent, where hunger relief systems are robust and smaller, underrepresented communities facing limited access to food support. These disparities carry significant implications for how funding is allocated and where food is most readily distributed. Over time, smaller organizations risk being overlooked, their absence from centralized systems potentially leading to diminished visibility, reduced support, and ultimately, fewer resources for the communities that rely on them. The disparity between these communities continued to grow and the database began to feel less like a technical document and more of an attestation of inequitable food distribution. The blank cells weren’t missing pieces of data, but stories of uncertainty, struggle, and hunger.

Recognizing what those gaps represented, Abigail shifted her approach from documentation to intentional inclusion. She made it a priority to identify and incorporate organizations that might otherwise remain invisible in statewide mapping efforts. By adding groups such as Annie’s Community Kitchen, Rod’s House, and Edible Hope, she highlighted the critical role smaller community-based providers play in sustaining local food access. Now surpassing 820 organizations, the database illustrates the vast infrastructure behind hunger relief and the deliberate coordination required to distribute resources more equitably.

Abigail’s work directly highlights where outreach, partnerships, and resources must be strengthened. Rather than simply documenting organizations, the project clarifies where gaps exist and where support is lacking. It shows how consistent, thorough data collection can actively shape a more accurate understanding of food access across WA turning visibility into action and ensuring communities are no
longer left out of the conversation.

External Resources:
Economic Research Service (ERS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Food Access
Research Atlas, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/

Washington State Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). https://agr.wa.gov/

U.S. Hunger Relief Organization with Feeding America. (n.d.). Feeding America.
https://www.feedingamerica.org/home?r=n&o=b