Jun 15, 2020 Q & A: An Interview with Nicole Jones, founder of Stonington Feeds Stonington

While the stories of good people, doing big things can seem to feel few and far between, along comes a woman, born and raised in a small, coastal town in Connecticut, that changes your mind. Nicole Jones, born Nicole Krynick, saw how the Covid-19 crisis was directly impacting her community, and simply wanted to help. She saw first hand how the local businesses, restaurants, and residents in Stonington were being negatively impacted by the global pandemic and came up with an idea to help offset the financial hardships facing this tight-knit community. Nicole was interviewed via email, and here was our conversation.

Are you originally from Stonington?

Yes, I was born in Stonington but moved in 5th grade to Georgia, then moved back in 8th grade. I attended UCONN, majoring in finance. After college I lived in Boston, Providence, and Hartford for different jobs. but came back to Stonington to start a family. Even living in Stonington, I’ve moved around a lot and had the opportunity to live in just about every part of Town except Old Mystic! I love the uniqueness of each part of our Town.

How did your parents influence you?

My parents have had an incredible influence on my life. They have taught me the importance of working hard.

How long have you been married? Where did you two meet?

I met my husband Marcus at Stonington High, but we didn’t start dating until the summer after I graduated. We’ve been together 22 years and married for 12 years. We have a 9 year old daughter, Peyton at Deans Mill School heading in to 4th grade. She loves basketball, track, and swimming.

How would your friends and acquaintances describe you?

I thought I would ask my friends to see how they would answer this and one said I am very quiet until you know me, and then I won’t shut up. Another friend said I’m loyal through thick and thin, a good listener, empathetic, and fair. They said I’m strategic, analytical, and love a good spreadsheet, (so true!) And my favorite responses were that I can make you laugh so hard you will pee your pants and if they could pick one friend to be arrested with it would be me. I love that the most!

How did you come up with the idea for Stonington Feeds Stonington?

Just before the pandemic, I was in line at Big Y and the young woman in front of me was struggling to pay for her groceries, her cards kept getting declined and she only had $10. She kept taking things off her order to try to get it under the $10, she was frazzled and embarrassed with a line behind her. I quietly whispered to the cashier I would help her out with the overage and she was so grateful. But I walked away wishing I had done more. In that moment I was reminded of what it is like to have food insecurity and reminded of my luck that day that I didn’t have to worry about it. It’s something so many people inadvertently take for granted. That experience followed me for weeks, how could I help more?

Fast forward a couple months and the world had changed. So many of our friends are local business owners or work for local businesses, and they were all facing a frightening reality of losing their livelihood. For about a week, I had the premise of Stonington Feeds Stonington in my mind, but I wasn’t sure how it would be received. That Saturday my husband called after going to Stonington Pizza Palace to get take out and said, “I just don’t know how they, or any open restaurant, is going to make it through this. It’s empty at noon on a Saturday.” That comment made me realize we had to do something to support our community. We launched Stonington Feeds Stonington a few days later. To me, it helped support the community I love in a tough time. While it was just a small gesture to try and support them, we felt the message “the community is here for you” was just as important to the businesses and our families in need.

What are you most proud of accomplishing?

Establishing Stonington Feeds Stonington. I never thought we’d reach $35k in donations in such a short time to support our own community. Recently, one of my best friends said “you realize what you did right?” My response “what do you mean?” And she said “you’ve always said that if you won the lottery you’d quit your job and start a non-profit to help others. You didn’t win the lottery, but you did start a non-profit without even realizing it.” To me, Stonington Feeds Stonington won’t solve the problem for people, but it can provide a bright spot in a really difficult time, letting them know people care.

What would you do differently if you had a chance?

Probably nothing. I feel like everything in my life, the good or the bad, has shaped my life and made me who I am. There is a lesson to learn in everything. So I try my best to carry those lessons with me.

Share with me something about yourself that you want to improve.

My New Years Resolution this year was to focus on the good and space myself from negativity. I love to read Harvard Business Review, their topics are always spot on and provide great insights into business and personal life. One article that really resonated with me recently was that people who express their gratitude are happier people. This has been one of my focuses this year, being grateful for what I have and saying it. It certainly does make you happier and even more appreciative of what you do have. So if you appreciate something or someone- just say it!

Describe a scene of your vision for the future of Stonington Feeds Stonington.

My hope is to see Stonington Feeds Stonington evolve to find new ways to support the community. It doesn’t have to be exactly how we are operating today, but any way where we can reinvest in to our own community.

For example, we have submitted for a farm grant from the State that will
help us take the premise of Stonington Feeds Stonington to our farming community. Should we get the grant we will work with our farming community, including farmers markets and all types of farms: dairy, fish, produce, etc. to create a voucher program for families in need. Essentially it will operate similar to what we are doing with SFS for restaurants. We will use the grant money to purchase vouchers to be distributed to families in need via Stonington Human Services. Having food insecurity is a daily struggle for many families. Having access to fresh produce is also challenging given the cost barrier to fresh foods. This program will help support our farms and our families in need at the same time.

Another example, a terrific idea by our awesome husband/wife volunteers Jenni and Joey, was to offer SFS merchandise. This merchandise will be sourced from Local Stonington business to help support them. Then, all profits we make from the sale of the merchandise will go back in to the community to continue to purchase gift card to locals businesses to help those in need.

*If anyone has unique ideas that they want to take the lead on under SFS to help us do more in the community, please reach out!