Bukola Daramola: Doing What She Cares About, Caring About What She Does

“Why do I work at the food pantry at Mercy Court? It’s something I love to do. Sure, there are some challenges, but I know the benefits outweigh the challenges, so I do it, and I do it, and I do it. The smile that lights up someone’s face when they get fresh vegetables shows me they’re happy and that makes me smile.”

Growing up, Bukola recalls her home life being “pretty normal,” and her parents comfortable enough that they could provide for others if need be.

“In my home country of Nigeria, I experienced compassion everywhere. People shared food, resources, whatever other people needed—if you had it, you gave it—that’s the environment I grew up in” said Bukola Daramola, clinical research nurse, public health specialist, and pantry coordinator at Mercy Court.

Building Resiliency and Confidence

From an early age, Bukola saw the power in helping others. And it wasn’t long before her “superpower” was recognized by others.

While attending boarding school as a teenager, she was given a post of Food Prefect, which at first confused young Bukola.

“I remember thinking, ‘Food Prefect, what does that even mean?’ and then quickly finding out that it meant that I, a 17 year old, was suddenly in charge of making sure the food served to 1,000 girls in the dining hall was up to the school’s standard!” she explained.

Bukola was responsible for overseeing everything from planning, tasting, and presenting food to her classmates three times a day to coordinating each meal within a 30 to 45 minute window, learning lessons and building the resiliency that would foreshadow her work at Mercy Court.

She remembers having to turn her back one day, because some negative feedback from her classmates made her cry.

“They said to me ‘how could you have passed this food? This food doesn’t taste right, and it’s not what we wanted!’” she recalled.

But Bukola knew that people were counting on her—the teachers who gave her the role, and the classmates she was trying to serve.

“In my mind, I was like ‘you have the same classwork and assignments that I do, and I’m coming to the dining hall early to try and help, why would you say those things?” she said.

She knew she had to do the job the next day, and the day after that, so she made a stand.

“I’m still coming back here tomorrow, and people may say things, but I am not going to cry, I am going to do what’s right,” she added.

Bukola is still in touch with some of her high school teachers.

“They saw something in me, and knew I could do it. They were right, and I think this is part of what gave me the confidence to go into the nursing profession,” she said.

Working Through Challenges, Fostering Equity

Recently certified as a Clinical Research Coordinator, Bukola expects to complete her Doctorate in Public Health from Morgan State University in December 2025.

And since 2021, she has been applying this wealth of knowledge and expertise to finding solutions for neighbors in the Lake Walker area of Baltimore City as a food pantry coordinator.

Located on the ground floor of RCCG Mercy Court, Bukola welcomes neighbors to the pantry on Sundays and Thursdays. With many already visiting the church for spiritual needs, the Sunday hours make picking up food much more convenient. And the Thursday hours accommodate both Mercy Court staff and neighbors, as well as the Maryland Food Bank’s (MFB) food distribution efforts.

MFB’s six Regional Program Directors work closely with community partners to ensure that resources are shared as equitably and efficiently as possible—reducing overlap or potential waste between the food bank’s community partners.

“Because so many working people told me they were struggling to get here on Mondays, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays, we created a wide space of time on Thursdays, from 1 to 5pm, when the public transportation many people use is more available,” said Bukola.

Transportation and a lack of financial resources tend to be the most common root causes of hunger in the Lake Walker area, followed by challenges finding affordable childcare. But Bukola sees the larger picture.

“I think most of the challenges people in my community face starts from being immigrants,” Bukola shared. “It’s hard to move to a new community, find your footing and try to make a living—the challenges are interconnected, and you can barely separate one from another.”

But Bukola’s early experience set her up to be the ideal person to try and help her neighbors solve that tricky puzzle.

Cultural Crops Brought Welcome Diversity to the Local Food Supply

While Bukola recognized that the neighbors visiting Mercy Court were diverse, the food her pantry could offer them was not.

She shared that while neighbors were very appreciative of what they were receiving from the Maryland Food Bank, she was also hearing things like “this is not what we thought would be here,” and “can we have more things that are fresh?”

So Bukola reached out to her Regional Program Director, who put her in touch with Kate Long, MFB’s Senior Director of Nutrition.

“Kate was very eager to hear what neighbors in my community were saying, which led to a larger discussion about how to offer people something specific to their culture, and ultimately our participation in the Culturally Inclusive Crop program,” she said.

For the last two years, Bukola has been able to offer her neighbors foods familiar to them, including eggplant, leafy greens, and peppers.

And to her, these crops do more than nourish neighbors; they help build community trust and resiliency.

“People know that what we do is real. They compare it to some of the other experiences they have in life, and they come back to Mercy Court,” she added.

And for those neighbors who come back? The aptly named Mercy Court has the ability to engage in even deeper relationships, connecting them with the resources that can help eliminate hunger’s root causes.

“Once we’ve been able to give a person food, and they feel safe, then we can ask the questions that help us understand what they really need help with—mental health issues, childcare, or even showing them that the Maryland Food Bank has job resources that can change things,” said Bukola.