When I read Polish word "je" I always think about another Ukrainian word "є" what means is/are/am and I traslate "je" like "is/are/am" not like "eating" and honesly sometimesit sounds very strange. :D
If you'd come to Upper Silesia (a southern region of Poland), you would indeed hear people use "je" instead of "jest", which is part of the Silesian language/dialect, for example: "To je jo" is the Silesian equivalent of "To jestem ja" :)