NeighborChef Legal

Terms

Buyer Terms and Chef Terms for using the NeighborChef marketplace.

NeighborChef - Buyer Terms & Conditions & Disclaimer
Version 3.2 - Effective May 18, 2026

1. Introduction
NeighborChef, Inc. ("NeighborChef," "we," "our," or "us") provides an online marketplace that connects independent food providers ("Chefs") with individuals seeking prepared meals ("Buyers"). By accessing or using the NeighborChef app, website, services, or platform (collectively, the "Platform"), you agree to these Buyer Terms & Conditions, our Privacy Policy, and any additional policies referenced herein (collectively, the "Terms"). If you do not agree, you may not create an account, place an order, or use the Platform.

2. Eligibility and Electronic Acceptance
You must be at least 18 years old and capable of forming a binding contract to create an account or place an order. By clicking "Agree," checking an acceptance box, creating an account, placing an order, or otherwise using the Platform, you electronically acknowledge and agree to these Terms. You agree that all information you provide is accurate, current, and complete, and that you will keep it updated.

3. NeighborChef's Role
NeighborChef is a technology platform and marketplace only. NeighborChef does not employ, supervise, direct, control, inspect, prepare, package, transport, deliver, or sell food. Chefs are independent third parties and are not employees, agents, partners, joint venturers, representatives, contractors, or franchisees of NeighborChef.

NeighborChef does not guarantee the legality, quality, safety, cleanliness, preparation standards, licensing status, certifications, insurance, availability, or compliance of any Chef or meal offered through the Platform. NeighborChef does not independently verify Chef identities, criminal history, food-handler certifications, permits, licenses, inspections, insurance coverage, kitchen conditions, or compliance with local, state, or federal laws unless expressly stated on the Platform.

NeighborChef does not guarantee the identity, honesty, background, conduct, qualifications, or legitimacy of any user.

4. Buyer Responsibilities
As a Buyer, you are responsible for reviewing meal descriptions, ingredients, allergen information, pickup windows, pricing, chef information, and order details before placing an order. If you have allergies, dietary restrictions, medical conditions, pregnancy-related food concerns, religious dietary requirements, or any other food sensitivity, you order at your own risk. NeighborChef is not suitable for individuals with life-threatening food allergies.

5. Assumption of Risk
By using the Platform, you voluntarily assume all risks associated with purchasing meals from independent Chefs, consuming meals prepared by third parties, food allergies or ingredient exposure, foodborne illness, travel to and from pickup locations, interactions with other users, delayed pickups, pickup at private residences or other locations, and any other activity connected to the Platform. You acknowledge that NeighborChef cannot guarantee the conduct, safety, quality, legality, cleanliness, or actions of any user or meal listed on the Platform.

6. Food Safety, Allergies, and Home Kitchen Disclaimer
Meals offered through NeighborChef may be prepared in private homes, shared kitchens, permitted food facilities, food trucks, or other locations operated by independent Chefs. Some kitchens may not be inspected or certified by health departments unless required by applicable law or separately certified by the Chef. Meals may contain or come into contact with common allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, gluten, soy, fish, shellfish, sesame, and other ingredients. To the fullest extent permitted by law, NeighborChef disclaims liability for allergic reactions, foodborne illness, injury, health issues, or other damages related to meals purchased through the Platform.

7. Pickup-Only Orders and Pickup Address Protection
NeighborChef orders are pickup-only unless otherwise clearly stated in the app. You are responsible for picking up your order during the listed pickup window. Exact pickup addresses, pickup instructions, and pickup codes or contact details are provided only after checkout or as needed to complete the order. If you fail to pick up your order during the pickup window, the Chef may mark the order as missed or completed, and you may not be eligible for a refund.

Pickup addresses, phone numbers, messages, instructions, and other contact or location information shared for order fulfillment are private and may only be used for that specific order. You may not post, publish, share, screenshot, distribute, or disclose a Chef's exact address, pickup location, phone number, private messages, or identifying location information on social media, websites, messaging apps, review sites, public forums, or with any third party. You may not visit a Chef's residence or pickup location outside authorized transactions or approved pickup windows. Unauthorized disclosure or misuse may result in immediate account suspension or termination and may subject you to legal action by the Chef and/or NeighborChef.

8. Payments, Taxes, Cancellations, and Refunds
Payments are processed by third-party payment providers, including Stripe. NeighborChef does not directly store full payment card numbers. By placing an order, you authorize the payment provider to charge your selected payment method for the order total, including meal price, taxes, platform fees, service fees, processing fees, tips, and any other charges shown at checkout. Buyers may be charged applicable taxes and fees where required by law.

Each Chef may set their own cancellation window, pickup window, and refund policy where allowed by law. Unless otherwise stated in the app, you may cancel up to 2 hours before the scheduled pickup window for a full or partial refund; after that window, the Chef may decline a refund. Missed pickups may not be refundable. Platform fees, service fees, and payment processing fees may be non-refundable where permitted by law. NeighborChef may issue refunds, credits, or adjustments at its discretion to maintain fairness, address order issues, comply with law, or protect the Platform.

9. Fraudulent Activity and Chargebacks
Fraudulent payment disputes, chargebacks, refund abuse, referral abuse, promotional abuse, or suspected fraud may result in account suspension, payment holds, referral removal, collections activity, or legal action. NeighborChef reserves the right to cooperate with financial institutions, payment processors, and law enforcement where legally required or appropriate.

10. Personal Use Only
Meals purchased through NeighborChef are intended for personal consumption only. You may not resell, redistribute, repackage, commercially serve, or otherwise transfer meals purchased through the Platform unless expressly authorized in writing by NeighborChef and the Chef.

11. Prohibited Meals, Items, Uses, and Conduct
The following may not be listed, sold, promoted, purchased, requested, or distributed through the Platform: illegal substances, alcohol, THC/CBD products, tobacco or nicotine products, unsafe or prohibited foods, raw milk, unlicensed seafood, wild game where prohibited or improperly handled, unsafe canned or preserved goods, fraudulent or misleading listings, foods prohibited under applicable law, dangerous or contaminated items, and counterfeit or unauthorized branded products.

Users may not harass or threaten others; engage in hate speech or discrimination; stalk or intimidate users; share private addresses publicly; arrive outside pickup windows without permission; bring weapons to pickups where prohibited by law; attempt off-platform payment manipulation; solicit unlawful activity; abuse customer support or refund systems; interfere with Platform security or operations; or create safety, legal, reputational, or operational risks. NeighborChef reserves the right to remove any listing, content, feature, or account at its sole discretion.

12. Platform Enforcement and Investigations
NeighborChef may investigate complaints, disputes, reports, suspicious activity, fraud, safety concerns, or alleged violations and may cooperate with law enforcement, regulators, courts, payment processors, or financial institutions where legally required or appropriate. NeighborChef may investigate, remove, restrict, suspend, demonetize, limit visibility of, or terminate any account, listing, feature, content, payment, promotion, referral, or activity at its sole discretion and without prior notice where permitted by law.

13. Platform Availability
The Platform may experience outages, interruptions, delays, bugs, maintenance periods, or feature changes. Certain features may be experimental, beta, under development, or temporarily unavailable. NeighborChef does not guarantee uninterrupted, secure, or error-free operation.

14. Account Security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs through your account. You agree to notify NeighborChef promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.

15. Communications Consent
By creating an account or placing an order, you consent to receive transactional emails, SMS messages, push notifications, in-app messages, and other communications from NeighborChef related to your account, orders, pickup reminders, payments, safety notices, support, and Platform updates. You may opt out of marketing communications at any time, but transactional or account-related messages may still be sent where necessary. Message and data rates may apply.

16. Referrals, Promotions, and Credits
NeighborChef may offer referral codes, promotions, discounts, credits, or rewards. These offers may be changed, limited, revoked, or discontinued at any time. Referral codes, credits, and promotions may not be sold, transferred, abused, duplicated, or used for fraudulent purposes. NeighborChef may remove credits or suspend accounts if misuse is suspected.

17. User Content
If you submit reviews, ratings, messages, photos, reports, profile information, or other content through the Platform, you grant NeighborChef a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, moderate, remove, and distribute that content in connection with operating, improving, promoting, and protecting the Platform. You agree not to submit false, defamatory, abusive, discriminatory, misleading, unlawful, or infringing content.

18. Intellectual Property
All NeighborChef names, logos, designs, graphics, software, text, features, and content are owned by or licensed to NeighborChef and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, scrape, reproduce, or create derivative works from the Platform without written permission.

19. Account Suspension and Termination
NeighborChef may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you violated these Terms, created risk for the Platform, harmed another user, violated law, abused the service, or engaged in conduct inconsistent with the safety or integrity of the Platform. You may stop using the Platform at any time and may request account deletion where available in the app.

20. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless NeighborChef, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, affiliates, and partners from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, expenses, costs, or fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or related to your use of the Platform, your violation of these Terms or law, misuse of Chef address or contact information, your order, pickup, handling, sharing, or consumption of meals, or your content, conduct, or interactions with other users.

21. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, NeighborChef will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data, goodwill, business opportunity, or other intangible losses arising out of or related to the Platform. To the maximum extent permitted by law, NeighborChef's total liability for any claim related to the Platform or these Terms will not exceed the greater of: (a) the amount you paid through the Platform in the 3 months before the claim arose, or (b) $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some limitations may not apply to you.

22. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. NeighborChef makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the Platform, meals, Chefs, availability, safety, legality, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or non-infringement.

23. Dispute Resolution - Arbitration and Class-Action Waiver
To the fullest extent permitted by law, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Platform, your account, an order, a meal, or your relationship with NeighborChef shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). You and NeighborChef waive the right to participate in any class action, collective action, representative action, private attorney general action, or jury trial.

You may opt out of arbitration by sending written notice within 30 days of first accepting these Terms to: NeighborChef Legal, 81-120 Avenue 58, Suite D, La Quinta, CA 92253 USA. Your opt-out notice must include your full name, email address associated with your account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration.

24. Time Limit on Claims
Any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the Platform must be filed within one (1) year after the event giving rise to the claim occurred, or the claim will be permanently barred where permitted by law.

25. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Subject to the arbitration provision above, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Riverside County, California.

26. Changes to These Terms
NeighborChef may revise these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we may notify you through the app, email, or other reasonable means. Continued use of the Platform after updated Terms are posted or provided constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

27. Contact
For questions about these Terms, contact help@neighborchefapp.com or write to: NeighborChef Legal, 81-120 Avenue 58, Suite D, La Quinta, CA 92253 USA.

NeighborChef - Chef Terms & Conditions & Disclaimer
Version 3.2 - Effective May 18, 2026

1. Introduction
NeighborChef, Inc. ("NeighborChef," "we," "our," or "us") provides an online marketplace (the "Platform") that connects independent food providers ("Chefs") with individuals seeking prepared meals ("Buyers," and together with Chefs, "Users"). By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to these Chef Terms & Conditions, our Privacy Policy, and any additional policies referenced herein (collectively, the "Terms"). If you do not agree, you may not create a Chef profile, list meals, receive orders, or use Chef features.

2. Eligibility and Electronic Acceptance
You must be at least 18 years old and capable of forming a binding contract to create an account, create a Chef profile, or list meals. By clicking "Agree," checking an acceptance box, creating an account, switching roles, creating a Chef profile, listing a meal, accepting an order, or otherwise using the Platform, you electronically acknowledge and agree to these Terms. You agree that all information you provide is accurate, current, and complete, and that you will keep it updated.

NeighborChef does not provide legal, tax, licensing, insurance, food safety, or regulatory advice.

4. Chef Compliance Responsibilities
Chefs are solely responsible for understanding and complying with all applicable cottage food laws, MEHKO rules, food safety regulations, health department requirements, permits, licensing obligations, inspection requirements, labeling requirements, tax laws, business registration requirements, zoning rules, and insurance obligations. You must immediately stop offering meals if any required authorization lapses, is suspended, or is revoked.

You are solely responsible for the safe preparation, handling, storage, packaging, labeling, pickup readiness, and description of all food offered through the Platform. You must provide accurate ingredient lists, allergen declarations, pickup windows, quantities, prices, and order details. Where required by law, you must attach or display required disclosures, including home-kitchen or health department notices.

5. Insurance Recommendation
NeighborChef strongly recommends that Chefs maintain product-liability, general-liability, and any other insurance appropriate for selling prepared food. Lack of insurance does not limit your liability.

6. No Earnings Guarantee
NeighborChef does not guarantee order volume, customer traffic, listing visibility, revenue, profitability, business success, or marketplace performance. Marketplace performance may vary significantly.

7. Buyer Responsibilities and Assumption of Risk
Buyers are responsible for reviewing meal descriptions, ingredients, allergens, pickup windows, and order details before ordering. If a Buyer has severe allergies or dietary restrictions, they order at their own risk. NeighborChef is not suitable for individuals with life-threatening food allergies.

By participating on the Platform, you acknowledge that Users voluntarily assume risks associated with purchasing meals from independent Chefs, consuming meals prepared by third parties, food allergies or ingredient exposure, foodborne illness, travel to and from pickup locations, interactions with other users, delayed pickups, and pickup at private residences or other locations.

8. Pickup Address and Contact Privacy
Pickup addresses, phone numbers, messages, instructions, and other contact or location information shared for order fulfillment are private and may only be used for that specific order. Users may not post, publish, share, screenshot, distribute, or disclose a Chef's exact address, pickup location, phone number, private messages, or identifying location information outside the order purpose. Users may not visit a Chef's residence or pickup location outside authorized transactions or approved pickup windows.

9. Payments, Payouts, Fees, Taxes, and Chargebacks
Payments and payouts are processed by third-party payment providers, including Stripe. NeighborChef does not directly store full payment card numbers. Platform fees, payout schedules, taxes, and payment processing terms are disclosed at checkout, in the dashboard, or by the payment provider.

Chefs are solely responsible for determining, reporting, and paying any taxes associated with their sales, income, tips, business activities, permits, or operations unless otherwise required by applicable law. Fraudulent payment disputes, chargebacks, refund abuse, referral abuse, promotional abuse, or suspected fraud may result in account suspension, payment holds, referral removal, collections activity, or legal action. NeighborChef reserves the right to cooperate with financial institutions, payment processors, and law enforcement where legally required or appropriate.

10. Cancellations, Refunds, and Order Issues
Each Chef may set cancellation and refund terms where allowed by law. Unless otherwise stated, Buyers may cancel up to 2 hours before the scheduled pickup window for a full or partial refund; after that window, the Chef may decline a refund. NeighborChef may issue refunds, credits, or adjustments at its discretion to maintain fairness, address order issues, comply with law, or protect the Platform, and may debit future Chef payouts where permitted by law.

12. Platform Enforcement, Visibility, and Investigations
NeighborChef may investigate complaints, disputes, reports, suspicious activity, fraud, safety concerns, or alleged violations and may cooperate with law enforcement, regulators, courts, payment processors, or financial institutions where legally required or appropriate. NeighborChef may investigate, remove, restrict, suspend, demonetize, limit visibility of, or terminate any account, listing, feature, content, payment, promotion, referral, or activity at its sole discretion and without prior notice where permitted by law.

14. Marketing Consent and User Content
If you enable any promotional or marketing feature, you grant NeighborChef a royalty-free, worldwide license to use your name, likeness, meal photos, kitchen photos, profile details, menu descriptions, and listing content in advertising, social media, app surfaces, and press materials. You may withdraw optional promotional consent prospectively through available settings.

If you submit listings, photos, reviews, messages, reports, profile information, or other content through the Platform, you grant NeighborChef a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, display, reproduce, moderate, remove, and distribute that content in connection with operating, improving, promoting, and protecting the Platform. You agree not to submit false, defamatory, abusive, discriminatory, misleading, unlawful, or infringing content.

15. Account Security and Communications
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs through your account. By creating an account or listing meals, you consent to receive transactional emails, SMS messages, push notifications, in-app messages, and other communications related to your account, orders, pickups, payments, safety notices, support, and Platform updates. Message and data rates may apply.

16. Intellectual Property
All NeighborChef names, logos, designs, graphics, software, text, features, and content are owned by or licensed to NeighborChef and are protected by intellectual property laws. You may not copy, modify, distribute, reverse engineer, scrape, reproduce, or create derivative works from the Platform without written permission.

17. Account Suspension and Termination
NeighborChef may suspend, restrict, or terminate your account or Chef features at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you violated these Terms, created risk for the Platform, harmed another user, violated law, abused the service, or engaged in conduct inconsistent with the safety or integrity of the Platform.

18. Chef Indemnification
In addition to any general indemnification obligations, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless NeighborChef, its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, affiliates, and partners from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, expenses, costs, or fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of or related to your meals, listings, food preparation, foodborne illness, allergic reactions, regulatory violations, permit lapses, labeling errors, tax obligations, pickup location, user interactions, content, or violation of these Terms or law.

19. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, NeighborChef will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, data, goodwill, business opportunity, revenue, or other intangible losses arising out of or related to the Platform. To the maximum extent permitted by law, NeighborChef's total liability for any claim related to the Platform or these Terms will not exceed the greater of: (a) the amount of fees paid to NeighborChef in connection with your account in the 3 months before the claim arose, or (b) $100.

20. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. NeighborChef makes no warranties, express or implied, regarding the Platform, meals, Chefs, Buyers, availability, safety, legality, accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, non-infringement, revenue, order volume, or marketplace performance.

21. Dispute Resolution - Arbitration and Class-Action Waiver
To the fullest extent permitted by law, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Platform, your account, a listing, an order, a meal, payout activity, or your relationship with NeighborChef shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"). You and NeighborChef waive the right to participate in any class action, collective action, representative action, private attorney general action, or jury trial.

22. Time Limit on Claims
Any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the Platform must be filed within one (1) year after the event giving rise to the claim occurred, or the claim will be permanently barred where permitted by law.

23. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Subject to the arbitration provision above, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Riverside County, California.

24. Changes to These Terms
NeighborChef may revise these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we may notify you through the app, email, or other reasonable means. Continued use of the Platform after updated Terms are posted or provided constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

25. Contact
For questions about these Terms, contact help@neighborchefapp.com or write to: NeighborChef Legal, 81-120 Avenue 58, Suite D, La Quinta, CA 92253 USA.