Denisha Jones can’t resist a tasty peach cobbler. But for years, she couldn’t find one on the market that tasted how she wanted. So she started experimenting with recipes and tried one out at a family gathering.
“It just took a life of its own,” Jones said.
Friends and family raved about the cobblers and soon she was inundated with calls, texts and messages asking about how to buy her cobblers.
“I knew that people in my community loved peach cobbler, but I didn’t know how much of a need it was for a peach cobbler to be in the frozen section,” said Jones.
She had no plans to launch a business but saw a demand, and decided to give it a go. A year in, she’s blown way by the boom of her company: Sweet Peaches Cobblers.
“Bringing it fast forward to now, we’re in 37 stores and three restaurants,” she said.
But the road to sweet success wasn’t always obvious.
She earned a college degree, was working and ran her own nonprofit. But her first child was born with severe, nonverbal autism. Not long after, her second child was born prematurely with significant medical needs. With a schedule full of medical appointments and therapy, she had to leave the workforce to become a full-time caregiver.
“I had no choice really to make a sacrifice for my own career. I had to give up a lot to make sure that my son received the most intensive treatment,” said Jones. “I wouldn’t trade or change anything in the world for that. But it was definitely a time where we needed Harvesters, because we were only a one income household, and my husband was doing what he had to do, but it just sometimes wasn’t enough when ends weren’t meeting.”
Harvesters helped keep her family fed, so that one day, Denisha could feed new dreams as an entrepreneur.
Over the years, she’s made it a priority to pay it forward, volunteering in the community and this year, participated in Harvesters events with her business.
“Whenever I could be an advocate for Harvesters, I would definitely do so wherever I’m needed because this is an important venture for everybody. This is something that is needed in our community, and wherever Sweet Peaches Cobblers can help, we’re here to help,” Jones said.
And she wants you to know that nourishing neighbors in need today is an investment in feeding hope and fueling dreams tomorrow.
“You never know what you can do and how it will impact someone’s life,” Jones said. “So Harvesters is just a sublime way of saying we’re here to help, whenever there is a need—so give.”