Haines City has a thriving food-truck scene.
In Haines City, food trucks rent spaces on private property, creating culinary enclaves that consumers crave. This has led to a flourishing community of entrepreneurs. But recent proposals — pushed to benefit brick-and-mortar restaurants over their mobile competitors — are putting those entrepreneurs at risk.
One of those entrepreneurs is Lenora Crawford. She owns the popular food truck Touch of Philly. She and her husband opened the food truck to share their love of Philly cheesesteaks. But when Lenora learned she was suffering from stage four kidney failure, the food truck became a lifeline for her family — their only source of income as they struggled with medical bills.
Gloribel Zamora has a similar story. Her Peruvian-Asian food truck, Chaufa Mania, has kept Gloribel and her family afloat since she had to give up her career as an occupational therapist after her leg was amputated and she could no longer practice.
Lenora and Gloribel love their jobs, and their customers love their food. But now the Haines City Commission wants them gone. Not because they’ve done anything wrong, but because their food trucks are too popular — too much competition for brick-and-mortar restaurants.