Terms of Service

ForkFork is an online marketplace that connects buyers with independent home-food operators (“cooks”) who hold a Microenterprise Home Kitchen Operation (MEHKO) permit or a cottage food operation registration or permit issued by Santa Clara County, California.

Cooks are independent businesses. ForkFork does not prepare, cook, package, label, store, transport, or sell any food. Each order is a transaction between you and the cook: the cook is the seller of the food, sets their own prices and menu, prepares the food in their own permitted home kitchen, and is solely responsible for food safety, ingredient and allergen accuracy, labeling, packaging, and complying with the laws that apply to their operation. Cooks are not employees, agents, partners, or joint venturers of ForkFork.

When a kitchen displays a “County-verified” badge (or similar), it means exactly this: at the time of review, the permit information the cook provided matched an entry on Santa Clara County’s published list of approved MEHKO or cottage food operators — or our team verified the cook’s permit documentation directly — and a member of our team reviewed the application. We check the county list periodically, not in real time.

The badge is not a guarantee, endorsement, or certification of any cook, kitchen, or food item. It does not mean ForkFork has inspected any kitchen, tasted any food, or verified anything beyond the permit match described above. Permits are issued and enforced by the county, not by ForkFork, and a permit’s status can change at any time.

Food sold on ForkFork is prepared in home kitchens operating under California’s home-kitchen and cottage-food laws — not in commercial restaurant facilities. Ingredient and allergen information is provided by the cook, and ForkFork does not verify it.

If you have a food allergy or dietary restriction, contact the cook directly before ordering and make your own judgment about whether to order. Cross-contact with allergens is possible in any kitchen. You assume the risks inherent in purchasing and consuming food prepared by an independent operator.

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Services. You are responsible for your account credentials and for everything done under your account. Guest checkout creates a limited account tied to your order so you can view it later; you may claim it with an email and password.

You agree to provide accurate information (including a working phone number and email for order coordination) and to use the Services only for lawful, personal, non-commercial purchases unless you are an approved cook.

The listed price of every item is set by the cook, and the cook receives 100% of it. At checkout, buyers pay a ForkFork service fee (currently 8% of the subtotal plus $0.30), which is shown before you pay. Listed prices include any California sales tax due on the item; the cook is responsible for reporting and remitting that tax.

Payments are processed by Stripe. ForkFork does not store your card number. When you pay, you authorize the total shown; your payment to ForkFork settles your payment obligation to the cook for that order, and the cook’s share is transferred to them through Stripe. An order is a binding purchase once payment is confirmed, subject to the Refund Policy.

Pickup and delivery are arranged between you and the cook as shown at checkout. Exact pickup details (and the kitchen’s contact info, where provided) are shared after you order. Please be on time — food is perishable, and a missed pickup is not automatically refundable.

You may post a review only for an order you actually completed. Reviews must reflect your genuine experience and must not be defamatory, harassing, discriminatory, or unlawful. Cooks provide their own listing content (names, photos, descriptions). ForkFork may — but is not obligated to — moderate, edit the display of, or remove any content, listing, review, or account at its discretion, including for suspected policy violations or safety concerns.

You grant ForkFork a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, and reproduce content you submit, for the purpose of operating and promoting the Services. Content belongs to whoever created it; ForkFork is a platform for it, and to the extent permitted by law we are not the publisher or speaker of user content.

You agree not to: misrepresent your identity; place orders you do not intend to complete; circumvent the Services to solicit or complete off-platform payment for an order initiated on ForkFork; scrape, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Services; attempt to access another user’s data; use the Services to send spam; or use the Services in violation of any law. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FORKFORK DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. FORKFORK DOES NOT WARRANT THE QUALITY, SAFETY, LEGALITY, OR ACCURACY OF ANY FOOD, LISTING, OR REVIEW, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW: (a) FORKFORK IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF ANY COOK OR BUYER, INCLUDING ANY ILLNESS, INJURY, OR DAMAGE ARISING FROM FOOD PREPARED OR SOLD BY A COOK; (b) FORKFORK IS NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR LOST PROFITS; AND (c) FORKFORK’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING OUT OF THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (i) THE SERVICE FEES YOU PAID TO FORKFORK IN THE SIX MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE OR (ii) $100.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

You agree to indemnify and hold ForkFork harmless from claims, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your content, your use of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or — if you are a cook — the food and services you provide.

Please read this section carefully — it affects your rights. Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services that cannot be resolved informally will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, in Santa Clara County, California (or by video, or in your county of residence, per those rules). Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

You and ForkFork each waive the right to a jury trial and to participate in a class action. Disputes may only be brought individually. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual-property misuse.

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing hello@forkfork.app with your name and account email within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.

These Terms are governed by California law, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. If a provision is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Refund Policy, and (for cooks) the Cook Agreement are the entire agreement between you and ForkFork about the Services.

We may update these Terms as the Services evolve. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and take reasonable steps to notify you (for example, by email or an in-product notice). Continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.