Career Journey
Krista Jones Leads Team Effort
to Feed People with Cancer and their Families
May 2022
This year, nearly two million new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed, about 119,000 of them in New York State, according to the American Cancer Society. In many ways, the disease and its harrowing effects impact not only the individuals challenged to overcome them but also their families and friends. For many caregivers, ensuring their loved ones get the life-saving medical, personal and basic support they need can be overwhelming.
Krista Jones realized how grueling cancer is on sufferers and their families when a friend and fellow mother was diagnosed with the disease. Wanting to help, she made meals for the family and now leads Sparrow’s Nest, the nonprofit she founded and serves as executive director for, providing meals for people undergoing cancer treatment and their families in New York’s Hudson Valley. Sparrow's Nest became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2013 and has fed 2,700 individuals to date.
Krista Jones realized how grueling cancer is on sufferers and their families when a friend and fellow mother was diagnosed with the disease. Wanting to help, she made meals for the family and now leads Sparrow’s Nest, the nonprofit she founded and serves as executive director for, providing meals for people undergoing cancer treatment and their families in New York’s Hudson Valley. Sparrow's Nest became a 501(c)3 nonprofit in 2013 and has fed 2,700 individuals to date.
Co-Associate Editor Karen Shan spoke with Krista Jones, founder and executive director of Sparrow's Nest, about the organization and how it supports cancer sufferers and their families.
What inspired you to establish Sparrow’s Nest?
I wanted to do something to help the community. I was part of a moms’ group at Vassar Hospital where I met Cathy. She had three kids about the same ages as mine. She called and asked me to come to her house; something was wrong, and she was going to the emergency room. I went to her house and watched her kids. Nine hours later, I got a call that she had stage four colon cancer.
I didn’t know anyone before who had cancer. I did a little research and knew what was going on. I knew she needed help. She had little kids at home, ages seven, five and three. She started chemotherapy and became overwhelmed and exhausted. She was too sick to take care of the kids. People were dropping off food, which was good, but she didn’t know where it was coming from. She didn’t know if it was made in a sterile environment. Mostly, people were making ziti. It was all the same. She stopped having people bring in food, so I cooked for her.
What inspired you to establish Sparrow’s Nest?
I wanted to do something to help the community. I was part of a moms’ group at Vassar Hospital where I met Cathy. She had three kids about the same ages as mine. She called and asked me to come to her house; something was wrong, and she was going to the emergency room. I went to her house and watched her kids. Nine hours later, I got a call that she had stage four colon cancer.
I didn’t know anyone before who had cancer. I did a little research and knew what was going on. I knew she needed help. She had little kids at home, ages seven, five and three. She started chemotherapy and became overwhelmed and exhausted. She was too sick to take care of the kids. People were dropping off food, which was good, but she didn’t know where it was coming from. She didn’t know if it was made in a sterile environment. Mostly, people were making ziti. It was all the same. She stopped having people bring in food, so I cooked for her.
|
How did your idea of feeding people coping with cancer and their families go from a concept into becoming the nonprofit Sparrow’s Nest?
After Cathy’s passing, other friends of mine were diagnosed with cancer, too. I quit my job [in radio] and decided to start cooking - to start a charity that feeds families with cancer. When I quit my job, I had four friends who were sick. I thought, if I could cook for those four families, I could cook for 40. I looked for a kitchen. It was a new concept and people were skeptical. They didn’t know how it was going to happen, so in 2013, I built a commercial kitchen on the back of my house. I used all our retirement money and got some money from Bethenny Frankel of Skinnygirl. One of my friends was actually the connection to us getting on the show. I couldn’t have transitioned without this kind of support. We cooked out of there until 2017. It wasn’t fair to our neighbors. I was cooking for 25 families, cooking for 125 people. We had drivers and volunteers. At that point, we moved into Summerlin Plaza in Wappingers Falls and have been there ever since. We have fed over 2,700 people that have come on and off the service since our inception. |
Krista and her Team Prepare Meals
for People Suffering from Cancer and their Families Photo Courtesy: Sparrow's Nest |
Next year, Sparrow’s Nest will celebrate its first decade in operation. Congratulations! How has the organization evolved since its founding?
The offices and kitchen in Wappingers Falls each take up half the space. We’ve rented two buildings, one for storage. Next up...we are now looking at land throughout Dutchess County where we can build our own kitchen. A moratorium is currently in place for the area we wanted to build on, and our application did not go through.
We’ve been cooking for moms with kids at home. We have a hard time saying ‘no.’ There are different organizations for women facing cancer. Today, we’re also feeding dads with cancer who have kids at home.
Our mission is to take care of families with kids under 18 at home. Senior citizens really need help, too. We want to take that piece out – that you have to have kids 18 and under. We’ll feed you through your cancer treatment. Then, we feed the family for up to year after a family member with cancer passes away. We’re still trying to protect their nest. We’re trying to keep them at the dinner table – to be around the dinner table and check-in with each other. We cook for anyone who has a cancer diagnosis as long as there are children 18 and under living in the home. This includes diagnosed children and anyone else living in the home (grandparents and other caregivers included) as long as there are kids under their roof.
The offices and kitchen in Wappingers Falls each take up half the space. We’ve rented two buildings, one for storage. Next up...we are now looking at land throughout Dutchess County where we can build our own kitchen. A moratorium is currently in place for the area we wanted to build on, and our application did not go through.
We’ve been cooking for moms with kids at home. We have a hard time saying ‘no.’ There are different organizations for women facing cancer. Today, we’re also feeding dads with cancer who have kids at home.
Our mission is to take care of families with kids under 18 at home. Senior citizens really need help, too. We want to take that piece out – that you have to have kids 18 and under. We’ll feed you through your cancer treatment. Then, we feed the family for up to year after a family member with cancer passes away. We’re still trying to protect their nest. We’re trying to keep them at the dinner table – to be around the dinner table and check-in with each other. We cook for anyone who has a cancer diagnosis as long as there are children 18 and under living in the home. This includes diagnosed children and anyone else living in the home (grandparents and other caregivers included) as long as there are kids under their roof.
Continuing their Good Work through the Pandemic
Photo Courtesy: Sparrow's Nest |
What effect, if any, has the pandemic had on Sparrow’s Nest and its services?
We have three full-time and two part-time people, and we had 16 volunteers before COVID to make food as well as 35 drivers. After COVID, we were down to three volunteers to make the food and 12 to 15 drivers. We’ve had to work out efficiencies in the kitchen to do that; we were cooking for 300 people per day – two meals, sides, desserts. We make the meals every Monday, usually from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and deliver everything on Tuesdays. Before COVID, it was for 300 people; during COVID, it was for 180. People weren’t going to doctors. There were no new patients. The ones coming on now are sicker because they weren’t going to the doctor. [Families get enough food] to have some left to reheat. Two meals can get through three or four sittings. Families receive food for the week, and we also have supplemental food in cases, plus a grocery bag with uncooked foods, like starches, fruits and snacks. What have been some of the challenges you’ve faced? The milestones? People have been skeptical of the concept. They haven’t found anywhere where others are doing what we are and weren’t sure of how we would handle large numbers. We keep tweaking policies and procedures to make things easier to feed anyone that meets our mission. |
COVID was challenging but not in funding. We brought in what we had projected in funding. Recipients whose immune systems were compromised couldn’t get to a grocery store. Families couldn’t go see them. It was scary. Back then, we didn’t know how it was transmitted. In some cases, we were delivering food more than once a week and giving out gift cards so they could buy things online. Expenses were doubling, tripling.
We were running out of space. We’re hopeful that by the end of next year, we’ll have broken ground in Union Vale and gotten the project started. By 2024, we’re hoping to move everything over.
How can people support Sparrow’s Nest?
How can people support Sparrow’s Nest?
|
We’re unique in that we’re a grass roots charity, not like the American Cancer Society. We get donations in small amounts at events. We need $850,000 yearly. We do that with $50 checks.
It’s amazing to watch. We do have sponsors who are amazing, 20 or so, that give $5,000 and $25,000 yearly. Grants come in at $5,000 to $20,000 from a few foundations yearly. Some just pop up, one-and-done. Others may not meet the mission one year, but do the next, which can bring in an additional $50,000. Elementary schools have collected water bottles [on our behalf]. It truly is the community coming together for the greater good, benefitting families facing a cancer diagnosis. People are looking for something good to do. Every day we see people giving up their last $20, telling us, ‘It’s all I have. Use it to give a family food.’ If you don’t have money, you can help by volunteering. If you are going to give me $50, I want to give you a chance to come in the kitchen and see that your $50 stayed where you put it. It’s staying in the community and feeding a family that has [lost its sense of] normalcy. |
|
Where do you find sanctuary?
I’m not the poster child for sanctuary. My business gives me a sense of peace. By doing good work, we feel a sense of accomplishment.
My goal is not to pick up the phone after 8 p.m. We really do have to have some of that balance in order to take care of others. I’m aware that I need to care for myself.
I do get a peace doing this. Every morning I give myself 15 minutes for spirituality. Usually, I read something – a book that’s a daily motivation. I focus on each and every day. In the morning, I try to enjoy some quiet time. I’m someone who already has a hard time focusing, but I do better when I can start my morning this way.
I’m not the poster child for sanctuary. My business gives me a sense of peace. By doing good work, we feel a sense of accomplishment.
My goal is not to pick up the phone after 8 p.m. We really do have to have some of that balance in order to take care of others. I’m aware that I need to care for myself.
I do get a peace doing this. Every morning I give myself 15 minutes for spirituality. Usually, I read something – a book that’s a daily motivation. I focus on each and every day. In the morning, I try to enjoy some quiet time. I’m someone who already has a hard time focusing, but I do better when I can start my morning this way.
|
Sparrow’s Nest is a 501(c)3 charity with a primary mission to cook and deliver homemade meals to families struggling through a cancer diagnosis. The organization serves parents, guardians or children who live in parts of five Hudson Valley New York counties who are actively receiving chemotherapy, radiation treatment, or are recovering from surgery due to their diagnosis. These families must have children 18 years of age or younger living in the home and must live within 35 miles of Sparrow’s Nest’s Wappingers Falls kitchen. Due to the generosity of those who support the organization’s mission, qualified recipients are never turned away. The charity feeds an average of 300 people each week – more than 2,000 individuals since its inception. |
