Meet Jona Jones | GRITS Farm 2 Fork Supperclub

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jona Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jona, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I want my legacy to be that I brought people together with food and community. Bringing people together with a dinner and an amazing meal rooted history. At my first farm to fork dinner, one of my guest said that the meal reminded him of his grandmother and I was on the verge of tears. That was it for me. That was the highest praise. Coming out to a farm and sitting together as family fosters community. It is honoring a simpler time when the world moved a bit slower and family was everything that we needed. We could gather over a meal to feel nourished and loved.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
GRITS (Girls Raised In The South) is a farm to fork supper club featuring meat and produce from local African American farms in middle Tennessee. Our recipes are inspired by the grandmothers who raised us in their kitchens and we are honored to share their legacy with you. Our dinners take place on our family cattle farm in Goodletsville, which is just north of downtown Nashville. We also have beehives and horses on the farm. Our dinners feature four to six courses of classic southern foods. By working with local farmers each menu is uniquely crafted and highlights the best of what is coming straight from the farm throughout the growing season. At the first dinner in November 2023, I smoked a tri-tip from a cow that was born and raised on the family farm. For our fall dinner last year we honored the roots of my Louisiana mother in law by featuring a menu of food straight from the Bayou. We had pickled shrimp, crawfish pies, seafood gumbo, chicken & sausage gumbo, and I made fresh beignets. My inspiration for GRITS was my grandmothers. My paternal grandmother, Cornelia Wright was the matriarch of our family. Our family is scattered all over middle Tennessee. Sunday was for making the drive to Lebanon for dinner. Her Sunday dinners were legendary. She would easily feed 20 to 30 people on any given Sunday. Her food was love and community. All were welcome at her table. Even outside of Sunday dinners, my grandmother kept a welcoming home. It was nothing for a friend or church member to drop by for a slice of pie and cup of coffee. We have family photos of me in her kitchen. She was my foundation. She passed her gifts onto me. My passion for cooking and community began in a little kitchen on Big Springs road in Lebanon Tennessee.

My maternal grandmother, Cora Spencer was a cook at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin back when it was segregated boarding school. She’d feed kids at school all day and bring home the scrapes to feed her kids and other kids in the neighborhood. Taking care of each other didn’t end with providing food and clothes for her kids. She poured back into her community and that same community poured back into her family after she passed away. I never got to meet grandma Cora, but her love of food and love of community has been imprinted onto my life in a huge way.

Another aspects of these dinners is sharing the deep history of African Americans and farming. In 1920, black people owned nearly 15 million acres of farm land in America. Present day that is less than 3 million acres. I could talk all day about why and what happened and that is a deeply important conversation. But more than anything, I want GRITS to be an answer. I want to show people what it means to return to the land on our own terms. Our family dinners open the door to what farming could like in present day America.

My dream for these dinners is seeing people come together. Come out to the farm to feel loved and welcomed. Bring a bottle of wine and share it with someone. At our dinners, I always ask that guest sit across from their partner that way the person on either side of them is someone new or someone they haven’t seen in a while. Something so simple can foster community. These dinners are a chance to meet some local farmers and hear their stories as well. At the end of dinner, I want to give people the opportunity to buy farm fresh produce, honey, eggs, flowers, and beef. A glass of wine around the firepit after dinner is one of my favorite things. Our guest linger a while after dinner and enjoy each other’s company. It is about coming together to celebrate all the things we have in common. That is the community I am trying to build one dinner at a time with Girls Raised In The South.
I have been blessed with friends that have jumped on a planes to attend one of our dinners. I have a dear friend that didn’t hesitate to bless our dinner with a bit of opera from Porgy & Bess after I put her on the spot. I have been able to collaborate with a childhood friend and his family business of fresh fruit sorbet. A dear friend that I grew up with designed my GRITS logo. I am forever grateful to my friends and family that have supported this venture.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As a Nashville native, I have my tried and true places for all of the above. I loved going to LePeep in Belle Mead for breakfast. I am a huge fan of Star Bagel in West Nashville. They have the best fruit tea in town. PERIOD. My favorite Italian spot is Cafe Nonna in West Nashville. El Fuego for really good Mexican food and margaritas. Their patio is the best. I love the Greenhouse Bar. My favorite Thai spot in town is Smiling Elephant. I love Korea House in West Nashville. All of these places are Nashville classics. They have all been in business for 20 plus years and a few, it’s closer to 30 years. I always tell people to get off of Broadway to see real Nashville. I love Cheekwood botanical gardens. I love it so much, I did my engagement photos there. I love telling people about Radnor Lake. Arrington Vineyard is amazing on a good weather day. Classic movies at the Belcourt are also a favorite for me. I have always loved going to the Frist museum as well. Nashville has so much to offer if you can get off the tourist trap rollercoaster.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to start at the beginning and thank J.U.M.P. ( Jefferson street United Merchants Partnership) They were my first client back when GRITS was still a little dream floating around in my head. I had just started talking to my inner circle about this crazy idea of bringing people together over food in a unique way that I had never seen before. I also have to thank Lokelani Alabanza! We met a few weeks after I hosted my first dinner on the farm. I was showing her the images from the dinner and she began to tell me about the local chapter of the Les Dames d’Escoffier. Les Dames is an international organization supporting women in food, hospitality, and agriculture. I had never heard of this organization and started doing my own research out of curiosity.
Lokelani invited me to a mixer for potential new members and I was smitten. It was such an amazing experience to be in a room full of women networking and sharing their stories with each other. In 2024, I was awarded a grant from Les Dames thanks to Lokelani and she also nominated me to join the Nashville chapter. I am forever grateful to her. Her kindness and encouragement has been a blessing.

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