FK Your Diet, owned by Doug Miller and Amy Eldrige, is a locally owned restaurant with large portions and an even bigger purpose. The attention-grabbing name is not what it may seem.
Miller spent 12 years traveling to new homes as a foster kid, representing the “FK,” and was inspired in his early retirement to give back to the community. His generosity extends far beyond his heart for foster kids.
FK Your Diet provided local public schools with over 100,000 meals to distribute during parent/student conference nights to enhance attendance.
“We give back to the community by feeding people,” Miller said. “If you feed them, 13-1,400 people show up. If you don’t feed them, nobody shows up.”
After Hurricane Ian, FK Your Diet received national recognition for giving away over one million free meals and converting the Fort Myers and Cape Coral locations into local community kitchens.
“The area right now is hurting. There are a lot of people out there who rely on tourists to come in and, unfortunately, the tourists didn’t come back after Hurricane Ian. Restaurants are closing at a pretty significant pace,” he said.
Miller can be found in the kitchen of the Fort Myers location, serving the restaurant’s most well-known meals: “Dough H Nut’s” and the “Belly Buster Breakfast Burrito.” The goal of the massive portions is for no one to leave hungry.
Miller is fond of the FGCU community.
“FGCU students are the happiest and most entrepreneurial-oriented kids I’ve worked with,” Miller said.
FK Your Diet often caters for the FGCU baseball team.
“They are the most respectful guys you’ve ever met,” he said.
Pitcher Evan Dempsey said the baseball team loves it when FK Your Diet caters.
“We all love it when he caters before baseball games,” Dempsey said. “He [Miller] cares about our season and likes to talk to each of us about how it’s going. He cares about each of us and makes great food.”
However, beyond serving our local community, the heart of FK Your Diet is foster kids and families; 5% of every meal purchased at one of the restaurant locations goes back to supporting foster kids. They accept donations at their restaurant and can provide new clothing, shoes, technology, bedding and jobs to those in need. The restaurant provides meals for foster families through the generosity of their partners and hosts foster parent appreciation dinners.
“We’re launching our Sweatshirt Drive,” Miller said. “So, when you’re a foster kid, you move around a lot, you lose your clothing. Maybe you get a little bit bigger, and then suddenly it starts getting a little bit cold. You don’t have a sweatshirt. So, we’ll buy about 4,000 sweatshirts and give them out to kids.”
He said he has a passion for reforming the foster system and providing a community for foster kids.
“When you turn 18 in the foster system, you get kicked out,” he said. “You have nowhere to go, no care and no family. There’s a pipeline of foster kids to prison.”
Around 80% of those incarcerated have been impacted by the foster system.
His solution for fixing the foster system goes beyond serving hot meals.
“The way to fix the foster system is to make it OK to be a foster kid,” Miller said.
