Lunch in the Park supplies free food, fun

There were still puddles from a power washer on the floor of a Douglass Park pavilion where Mary Tyson sat on a picnic bench with four of her grandchildren — Jamika, Jackie, Darnell Jr. and Alexis Fuller, ranging in age from 8 to 13. As soon as the children finished their lunches, they ran off to several activities arranged around the shelter, including crafts with the Girl Scouts.

The family attended Lunch in the Park on Thursday, a program sponsored by the Columbia/Boone County Health Department and the Voluntary Action Center. The program, aimed at low-income families, is designed to provide children with a healthy lunch on weekdays, as well as other activities. Truman the Tiger is expected at a future Lunch in the Park.

This was the first time Tyson and her grandchildren participated in the program. “I was passing by and I saw it,” Tyson said, “and I came by and asked, and they told me that I should bring my grandkids.”

Mary Martin of the Health Department said 185 lunches had been ordered for Thursday and as of about 12:45 p.m., they were almost gone.

Tyson watches the children while her son is at work. “My son’s a single father who’s raising five children, so I pitch in to try to help him,” Tyson said. “I try to find things for the kids to do, because they always say there’s nothing to do around here.”

Tyson grew up in Columbia, moving away when she was 11. She returned 2½ years ago after living in Los Angeles. The Fullers moved from Los Angeles this year. Tyson and the children said they are enjoying Columbia’s charm.

“You can say good morning to people on the street here,” Tyson said. “In L.A. you would say hello to someone, and they would look at you and wonder why you were talking to them.”

Even with the oppressive heat, the grandchildren enjoyed Douglass Park. “It’s pretty fun,” Jackie, 12, said. “And where we come from, you don’t see many trees out there, or animals either.”

Jamika, 13, called it “cool.”

“There’s all different things you can do,” she said. “They give you lunch, and after lunch you can play on the playground.”

Several members of a youth group from Cornerstone Baptist Church served the lunches as part of a hometown mission trip.

“We took our mission trip at home because every time we go out of the city, those same needs exist at home,” said Debbie Karwoski, one of the group leaders.

“Doing the same work here I’ll be able to help my community,” said teenager Samantha Jones. “It’s very enlightening.”

Now that her grandchildren are out of summer school, Tyson plans to bring them to lunch often. The program ends Aug. 18.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll definitely be back.”