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Florida Foodie: Using food to get results for foster children

Restaurant owner’s experiences growing up in foster care drive him to help others

ORLANDO, Fla. – Doug Miller is a man who appreciates what he has. He now owns three restaurants after he was able to retire early from his previous career in sales. His newest location in Central Florida just recently opened. However, his life started out far differently.

Miller’s parents died when he was young and he ended up in an abusive home. From there, he bounced from foster home to foster home. He spent 12 years in foster care. During that time, he said food was often scarce.

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In his years since leaving foster care, cooking became a hobby and feeding others was a way for Miller to show others how much he cares. It’s a practice he carries over into his chain of restaurants, FK Your Diet.

The “FK” stands for foster kid. Millers said he wants to make sure every customer leaves with some extra food, offering generous portions that guarantee left overs.

But his efforts to give back extend beyond his meals. He also makes efforts to hire other people who have gone through the foster care system, along with others who might need a second chance.

Miller shares his experiences in the foster care system and how he was able to hustle, starting several businesses along the way. He also shares some of the problems he ran into with the name early on, before eventually winning people over.

Please follow our hosts on social media. You can find Candace Campos on Twitter and Facebook. Lisa Bell is also on Facebook and Twitter and you can check out her children’s books, “Norman the Watchful Gnome.”


About the Author
Thomas Mates headshot

Thomas Mates is a Streaming Executive Producer for News 6 and ClickOrlando.com. He also produces the podcast Florida Foodie. Thomas is originally from Northeastern Pennsylvania and worked in Portland, Oregon before moving to Central Florida in August 2018. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in Journalism in 2010.

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