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Trisha Wright and Daniel Reyes, owners of the Korean BBQ food truck T & D Fusions, say they had been setting up next to places like the Shore Medical Center and Kohl’s before the crackdown this month.

Wright organized an this week for the town to reconsider its limits on food trucks. As of Friday, it received over 3,000 signatures and widespread attention on social media.

“I just feel like we’re being shafted because we’re mobile,� Wright said.

An ordinance on food trucks has been in effect since 2011. It states that mobile food businesses must operate in conjunction with an approved temporary use, such as a permitted festival or parade. Other town rules include:

• Food trucks can operate on property owned by the food truck establishment itself, said Town Council President Don Abbatiello in an interview.
• Food trucks serving crews at active construction sites are exempt, per the 2011 ordinance.
• Food trucks can acquire a “transient businessâ€� license, per the

• . Fees for the first two days are $500 each, and $150 for each day after up to a maximum 30 days.

Discourse online has especially centered on food trucks that had been setting up during lunch hours outside the hospital.

Food truck operators say they’ve heard from hospital employees who are upset the trucks are no longer there. Employees relied on them as an easy, accessible lunch option, said Mary Jo Flatten, owner of the lemonade bus Bravanson’s Main Squeeze.

“They take care of us, so we should turn around and take care of them,� Flatten said.

Shore Regional Health spokesperson Trena Williamson said in a statement the hospital complies with town zoning rules.

“We appreciate the interest from food truck vendors; the Town of Easton determines where they may operate and what zoning and permitting requirements they must follow,� Williamson wrote.

The food truck debate is expected to come up at Monday’s Town Council meeting. President Don Abbatiello said the council is considering both short- and long-term solutions.

“What we’re gonna try to do is try to come up with something at the very least that would allow for food trucks to go back to the hospital area,� Abbatiello said.

Further out, he believes there’s a “desire on the council to have a real conversation� on the ordinance. Any major proposals will include ample time for public input, he said.

“We got to be fair to the restaurants and businesses that actually employ the folks that live here in town and pay taxes to help support town initiatives,� Abbatiello said.

Abbatiello said he’s unsure of exactly how consistently the town has enforced the 2011 ordinance. This summer, a restaurant raised the concern of food trucks operating in town limits, Abbatiello said. Town leaders declined to name the restaurant.

The recent enforcement has followed the “ordinance as it is written,� Abbatiello said.

Wright said other areas have been more welcoming, such as Caroline County and Cambridge. But local food trucks are still pushing for change in Easton’s regulations, she said.

“It does take effect on all of us, so we have to become one,� Wright said. “We have to become stronger together.�

As council members prepare to discuss the matter on Monday and food truck supporters organize to come out to the meeting, one local business is stepping in to fill the void.

KustomScapes & Pools owners Karen Glass and Jon Glass Sr. are scheduling a lineup of food trucks outside their business next week. The pool business sits off of Easton Parkway at the end of Route 662. Despite being surrounded by town land on all sides, the property itself is county land and not bound by Easton’s food truck ordinance.

Karen Glass said they wanted to pull together as a community after hearing about the food truck controversy. They have trucks slated for almost every day next week and a coffee truck every other Friday, she said.

“This is what our community was built on,� Jon Glass said. “The community supporting each other and small businesses supporting small businesses.�