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Tonia Causey, right, is shown in the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge kitchen preparing meals with the Holy Grill’s new Meal Coordinator, Dalina Merchant. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Tonia Causey, the lead cook of Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge, has retired after cooking and preparing more than 450,000 meals for over 35 years at the organization’s Holy Grill in Zion City. The Interfaith Federation honored her as a career-dedicated staff member.
Causey, a mother of two and a grandmother, has dedicated much of her life to serving the needs of others. She began volunteering with Holy Grill, a program that provides daily meals in Baton Rouge in the Zion City neighborhood, shortly after it began in 1987. By 1989, she was the lead cook for all meals and joined the Interfaith Federation of Greater Baton Rouge staff.
Besides meals, Causey also helped organize hundreds of activities and resources for the community. She has overseen the Kids Café program, which focuses on activities, nutrition and tutoring for school-aged children during the summer months. She has even participated in health fairs and clinics, annual distribution of Christmas gifts, concerts and partner ships with schools and organizations across the city during her tenure.
What has working at the Holy Grill meant to you for all these years? Getting to know people and help them has meant so much. Not just feeding them but helping them find their way in life, too. I've loved giving them a listening ear and doing what I can to make things better for him.
Tonia Causey working with youth in Zion City during the summer. Who does the Holy Grill serve? The hungry. We don't turn anyone down.
We serve. We can't judge on what a person looks like they have because we don't know what's going on with the person. I just served whoever came.
Why did you decide to dedicate your professional life to this one place? It started off with my church. I always wanted to help my community and set an example for the youth to encourage them. There is so much more in life than negative energy.
It was also convenient for me as a single parent with my kids, the hours that I worked. I was able to attend PTA meetings, and I was involved in school activities and different things like that. How have you contributed to working toward change in Baton Rouge over these years? I just try to focus on the positive, show people a new way of life, other than crime and different things like that.
I tried to instill in them that there is a better way out there. I want them to know that all you have to do is just focus on yourself and commit to doing the best that you can. What's special about the Interfaith Federation? Tell us a little bit about being able to work with so many different groups of people and religions.
I really had to get to know each organization and each church that came in to volunteer. I tried to have a bond with them. I let them know I could help them with anything that I could.
I was willing to help and make them as comfortable as possible. While they were at the Holy Grill serving, I tried to be a friend to most of them. I gained a lot of friendships with different people, which I wouldn't have been able to do if I wasn't in the position that I was.
Is it going to be hard to not go back every day? Are you still going to volunteer? Yeah, I am. I'm helping them with their Christmas program that we have every year. I'm still hands on and still helping them when I can.
What was the purpose of the Kids Café? The Kids Café was a tutorial program that we had from 3:30 to 5:30 in the evenings. We would feed the kids and help them with their homework and do different activities with them like playing games. They really enjoyed it, and it was a really good experience to work with the kids as well.
What legacy do you leave behind after 35 years? I've tried to show others that there's a better way out there. It doesn't make a difference where you come from — your race, your class, your religion or whatever. You know you can do better in life, you know.
Some of the youth would come to talk to me, and some even called me Mama. I'm just glad that I was able to show them that someone loved and cared for them, as well as fed them. What do you want our readers to know? If they could set up a program like the Holy Grill in different areas, it would make a big impact on their community and city.
We have a lot of homeless people or hungry people all over the world, so, if we could start other programs in different areas, that would be a real good thing. This interview has been edited for length and clarity..
