Frequently asked questions

Feedhood is a free local marketplace for food and events. Home cooks, restaurants, bakers, farmers and caterers sell to the people who live near them, and you can book tickets to events they host. You can get your food delivered, pick it up, or eat at the seller's place. Our slogan is: feed your neighbourhood.

A feeder is anyone who sells food or hosts events on Feedhood: a home cook, a restaurant, a baker, a farmer or a caterer. We use one word for all of them. "Become a feeder" means "start selling".

No. Buyers pay for the food, the delivery fee if they choose delivery, and tax where it applies. There is no service fee, no small-order fee and no markup on menu prices. A donation to Feedhood is optional. Feeders, event organizers and drivers pay nothing to join, and Feedhood takes 0% commission. The only amount taken from a payout is the card fee that our payment partner, Stripe, charges on every card payment. It is about 2.9% + 30 cents. Feedhood does not receive any of it.

Mainly from optional donations at checkout. You can choose an amount or choose none. Donations pay for the servers, maps, payments and support that keep Feedhood running. Your order is exactly the same if you give nothing.

We want sellers and buyers to trust Feedhood before they give us anything. A required fee turns a neighbourhood marketplace into just another delivery app. We prefer to earn your support first.

Three things: 1. Real people. You can order from home cooks and small businesses, not only restaurants. 2. No commission. Sellers keep the price of their food, organizers keep their ticket sales, and drivers keep the whole delivery fee. 3. Honest prices. There is no surge pricing, no service fee and no markup on menu prices for buyers.

Yes. Payments are processed by our payment partner, Stripe, one of the largest payment companies in the world. Feedhood never sees or stores your full card number.

No. You can look at every seller and dish without an account. You only need an account when you pay, so the seller can contact you about your order.

Enter your address at the top of the app. Feedhood then shows the sellers near you, with the closest ones first.

1. Choose a seller and add dishes. 2. Choose how you want your food: delivery, pickup or dine-in. 3. Pay with your card. After that, open the Orders tab to follow your order. You can send a message to the seller from the order.

Delivery: the food is brought to your door, by a driver or by the seller. Pickup: you collect the food from the seller. There is no delivery fee. Dine-in: you eat at the seller's place. Not every seller offers all three. You see the choices at checkout.

At checkout you choose who delivers. The choices that work for your order are shown, for example: 1. The fastest available driver. We ask the closest one first. 2. A driver you pick near the seller, with their price. 3. The seller's own drivers, or the seller's own delivery. Orders with alcohol are delivered by the seller's own staff, never by a Feedhood driver.

The fee is a fee for the trip plus a fee for each kilometre between the seller and your address, with a minimum. It is set for your area, and a seller who delivers themselves can set their own. If you pick a driver, you see their price. The app shows the exact fee and the estimated arrival time before you pay. Feedhood takes no part of the delivery fee. It goes to whoever delivers.

Yes. Your order shows its status, the estimated arrival time and a live map while your driver is on the way.

The app tells you before you pay when no driver is nearby. You can choose pickup or dine-in instead, or order for a later time. A later time books the seller, not a driver. We start looking for a driver about 45 minutes before your time. If nobody accepts, we tell you before your food is made, and you can switch to pickup or cancel for a full refund.

Yes. Turn on "Schedule for later" at checkout and choose a time. The seller can only offer times when the kitchen is open.

Yes, when the seller offers them. On the dish page you can choose things like a size, extras or a spice level. Required choices are marked. If you need something special, send the seller a message from your order.

Every dish can show its ingredients and diet labels, for example vegetarian or halal. Please read them before you order. Feedhood cannot check what is in a dish. If your allergy is serious, message the seller before you order and ask them directly.

Yes, from sellers that hold a liquor licence Feedhood has checked. Their licence number is on their page, and their drinks show a 19+ mark. 1. You must be of legal drinking age where you receive the order: 19 in British Columbia. At checkout you confirm your age, and photo ID is checked when you pick up, receive or are served the order. 2. Alcohol is handed over in person and never left at the door. It is not given to anyone who is under age, has no ID, or appears intoxicated. If it cannot be handed over, it goes back to the seller and is not refunded. The rest of your order is still yours. 3. For pickup and delivery, alcohol has to come with food, and it can be ordered only during the hours the law allows (in BC, 9 am to 11 pm). 4. Feedhood drivers do not carry alcohol. An order with alcohol is picked up, eaten in, or delivered by the seller's own staff.

The green check mark means the seller gave Feedhood a food safety document, for example a food safety certificate or a permit, and our team looked at it. It is not a health inspection and not a guarantee. A seller without a check mark is not necessarily unsafe. Some sellers have not added their documents yet. A "Dine-in verified" check means we confirmed the identity of the host who serves meals at their home.

Some dishes can be ordered again automatically, for example every week. The seller sets the discount. You choose the schedule and your card is charged when each order is placed. You are always in control. You can skip, pause or cancel at any time in your profile, under My subscriptions.

Some sellers give a lower price for each item when you order a certain number. The dish page shows the amounts, and the lower price is applied in your cart automatically.

A pre-order is food that a seller makes in a batch. The seller shows a collection time and the number of portions left. You order your portion in advance and collect it in that time window. If the seller cancels the batch, your pre-order is refunded in full.

When a new seller opens, the seller can give a welcome discount, or free food, to their first neighbours. You see it on the seller's card and at checkout, and you do not need a code. It is one seat per person, for people who have never ordered from that seller. The seller pays for the discount. Feedhood pays for none of it.

Yes. Enter it at checkout under "Have a promo code?". If a welcome offer also applies, you get whichever is worth more, not both.

No. A donation to Feedhood is optional. It is pre-set at checkout, and you can change the amount or set it to $0. Your order is exactly the same in both cases.

Not yet. One order can only include one seller. This keeps the food fresh and the delivery fast. If you try to add a dish from another seller, the app asks you first and keeps your old cart, so you can come back to it.

Yes, until the seller starts preparing it. Open the order and tap Cancel. The app shows the exact refund amount before you confirm. If you cancel, the card networks keep their processing fee, so your refund is a little smaller than what you paid. Once the seller has started preparing your food, cancelling is up to them: send them a message from your order, and if they agree to cancel, you get a full refund. If the seller cancels or declines your order, you get a full refund. If no driver can be found for your delivery, you can switch to pickup, or cancel for a full refund, until the food is handed over. Refunds return to your card in a few business days. If you added a donation, you can keep it as a gift or get it back.

Send a message to the seller from your order first. They made the food, so they can usually help fastest. If you cannot solve it together, tap Report a problem on the order, or write to support@feedhood.com. If nobody has put it right after 24 hours, Feedhood steps in and, when it is right, refunds the cost of the food.

Yes. Tap the heart on any seller card. Your favourites are saved in your profile so you can order again quickly.

Events are supper clubs, cooking classes, tastings and food markets, hosted by feeders. Find them on the Events page and book a ticket in the same way you order food.

Your ticket appears in the app and on the website as soon as your payment is complete. It has a QR code that the organizer scans at the door. You do not need to print anything.

At some events, yes. When the organizer has drawn the room, you choose your seat on a map before you pay. At other events a ticket gives you a place, not a specific chair, for example a standing or general admission ticket.

Many events are at the organizer's home, so you see only the neighbourhood until you book. The full address and any joining instructions arrive with your ticket. Some events are online, or announce the place later.

No. Feedhood adds no fee to a ticket and takes no commission from the organizer. You pay the ticket price, tax where the organizer collects it, and an optional donation.

Every event shows its own refund rule before you pay. Some allow refunds up to 7 days before, some up to 24 hours before, and some do not allow refunds. If the organizer cancels the event, everyone is refunded in full.

Some organizers suggest a price and let you choose how much to pay, with a small minimum. You choose at checkout. Nobody at the door is told what you paid.

That is up to the organizer. Message them from your order and ask to change the name on the ticket. Every event page has a way to contact the organizer.

If the organizer has a waiting list, tap "Tell me if a place opens". When a place opens we tell people one at a time, in order, and give each a short time to buy. Being on the list reserves nothing until you buy.

Yes, if the organizer shared one. Enter it at checkout. Each code has its own limit and end date, and the discount is shown before you pay.

Home cooks, restaurants, bakers, farmers and caterers. When you sign up, you choose the category that fits you best. Each category shows menu choices that suit it, for example bread and pastry for bakers, or catering trays for caterers. Before you sell food, please make sure you follow the food rules where you live. See the section "Permits and food safety".

Nothing to join, no monthly fee and no commission. The only amount taken from a payout is the card fee that Stripe charges on each card payment, about 2.9% + 30 cents. Feedhood does not receive any of it.

Tap "Become a feeder" in your profile. Add your kitchen name, your category and your address. Your dashboard opens right away, with no waiting for approval.

Four steps, all in "Finish setup" on your dashboard: 1. Confirm your email address. 2. Add your store address. 3. Add at least one dish or event. 4. Set up payouts. Our payment partner, Stripe, sends your money to your bank. Then switch your store to Open. You do not need any documents to open: you can add your licences and permits later, from Licences & permits. If Feedhood built your store for you, there is one more step: check your store once before it opens.

Sometimes Feedhood builds a store for a business from its own website or menu. If we did that for you: 1. We email you a link. Open it and set your password. 2. Open "Check your store" on your dashboard. It shows five parts: your store details, your opening hours, every dish and price, how buyers can order, and your photos. 3. Confirm each part, or fix it first. Compare every price with your own menu. Your store stays hidden, and nobody can order, until every part is confirmed and you open the store yourself. You or a manager on your team can do the check. If a photo is not yours to use, delete it or replace it with your own.

You choose what you offer: pickup, dine-in, delivery by Feedhood drivers, or delivery by you. Buyers only see the choices you turn on.

Yes. Turn on "I deliver my own orders" in your profile. Then you do not use the driver network, and you bring the orders to your buyers yourself.

Dine-in means buyers come to your place to eat. You set the days and times, and buyers book a seat. Because guests come to your place, Feedhood first confirms your identity with a photo ID. After we approve it, a green "Dine-in verified" check appears on your listing. Whether you need a permit to serve meals at your home depends on your local rules. See "Permits and food safety".

Yes. When you turn on dine-in, buyers can book a time and a party size in the app. You do not need another booking tool.

Yes. Turn "Active" off in your profile. Your kitchen stays visible, but nobody can place a new order. Turn it on again whenever you are ready.

Yes. You can invite people to your kitchen team and choose what each person can do. For example, a cook can prepare orders but cannot change prices. You stay the owner of the account and the payouts.

Yes. Open another location from your dashboard. It is a kitchen of its own, with its own address, menu, hours and orders, run from the same account. It can use the payouts you already set up.

Yes. Choose the category "Farmer" and list your boxes, eggs, jams or other farm products. The rules for food safety are different for fresh produce and for processed food, and for animal products. Please ask your local health authority which rules apply to what you sell.

Choose the category "Caterer". Put the number of servings in the dish name, for example "Chicken biryani tray, serves 10", so buyers know what they get. Your opening hours control when you accept orders. You can also use pre-orders to offer a tray for a specific collection time, so a party order arrives days in advance.

Yes, if you hold a liquor licence that allows it, for example a food primary licence for a restaurant in BC. 1. Open Licences & permits and add your licence: the kind, the number exactly as it is printed, and your alcohol tax rate. 2. In your menu, turn on "Contains alcohol" for each drink. Drinks stay hidden until Feedhood has checked your licence against the provincial register, usually within two business days. 3. After approval, your licence number shows on your store page, and buyers who confirm their age can order. The rules you follow: check ID and refuse anyone who is under age or intoxicated. For pickup and delivery, sell alcohol with food (most licences require it) and only during the allowed hours. Deliver it with your own staff, who need Serving It Right in BC, and never leave it at the door. Feedhood drivers do not carry alcohol, and subscriptions are not available for drinks. You are responsible for the tax you charge. In BC, alcohol usually carries 5% GST plus 10% PST, while restaurant food carries GST only.

Go to the Menu tab and add a dish. For each dish you can add a photo, a description, a price, a category, ingredients, diet labels and a preparation time. Buyers use these details to choose, so more detail means more orders.

Yes. Add an option group to a dish, for example "Size" with Small and Large, or "Extras" with a price for each extra. You choose if a group is required or optional, and how many choices a buyer can make. The price updates automatically in the cart.

Yes, and the free way comes first. In your menu, choose "Import your menu", then "Free with AI chat": 1. Copy our instructions. 2. Open Gemini or ChatGPT (both have a free version), paste the instructions, and add your menu: a photo, a file or the text. 3. The chat writes your menu as a CSV file, which is a simple table. 4. Choose that file, or paste the text, back in Feedhood. Feedhood creates the dishes, sizes and add-ons, and nothing is charged. Always check every price before you publish, because a computer can make mistakes. You can also let Feedhood read your menu from a photo, a file or a link. Some of those reads have a small fee, taken from your sales later. The app shows the price before you start, and you never pay upfront.

On a dish, add a bulk price: for example, a lower price for each item when a buyer orders 6 or more. Buyers see "Buy more, pay less" on the dish page.

You can let buyers subscribe to a dish and set a discount for it. Each time an order is due, it is placed automatically and appears in your orders with a "Recurring subscription order" label. Prepare it like any other order. You can see all subscribers on the order.

Yes. Use pre-orders. Publish one batch with a collection time, sell portions in advance, and cook exactly what sold. Buyers see the time window and how many portions are left.

It helps a new kitchen get its first orders and reviews. You decide what your first neighbours get, for example the first 5 orders free up to $15. Feedhood shows it on the home page, on your card and at checkout, with no code to type. You set a maximum, and it is the only thing you spend. It stops by itself when the places are taken. Feedhood pays for none of it.

1. A new order arrives and you get a notification. 2. You accept it and start to prepare it. 3. You mark it ready. For delivery, a driver collects it. For pickup, the buyer collects it. 4. You mark it completed. Buyers can message you from the order, and you can message them.

Decline it from the order screen. The buyer is refunded in full, automatically. A buyer can also cancel until you hand the order over. Because the sale did not happen, the card fee that Stripe keeps on a refund comes out of your next payout if you are the one who cancels. If a buyer cancels, the buyer's refund covers that fee. If you already started cooking, contact support and we will help.

You choose what you offer: pickup, dine-in, delivery by Feedhood drivers, or delivery by you. For Feedhood drivers, we ask the closest driver first when you mark the order Ready (or when you accept it, if you prefer), and you can also choose a driver yourself from nearby drivers or your own list. Buyers can choose a driver too, within what you allow. A driver takes a photo at the door as proof.

Your opening hours decide when buyers can order. Your preparation time tells buyers how long a dish takes to make, so the earliest pickup or delivery time they see is realistic. Set it for each dish.

Feedhood takes 0% commission. It takes nothing from a sale, a delivery fee or a tip. The only amount taken from a payout is the card fee from Stripe, about 2.9% + 30 cents on each card payment. It goes to the card networks, in the same way as when a customer pays you in your own shop.

Feedhood pays you through our payment partner, Stripe. You connect your bank account once, and Stripe sends your money there. When a Feedhood driver delivers an order, the payout is sent right after the delivery. For pickup, dine-in and orders you deliver yourself, the payout is sent about 24 hours after the handover, so the buyer has time to report a problem. If a problem is open, the payout waits until it is solved. After that, your bank usually needs 1 to 3 business days. You can see your balance in your dashboard.

Stripe keeps its card fee when a payment is refunded. The person who ends the sale pays it. If the buyer cancels, the fee is taken from the buyer's refund. If the seller cancels or declines, the fee comes out of the seller's next payout. The buyer always gets what the app showed.

Turn on tax only if you are registered to collect it. When it is on, buyers see a tax line at checkout, and all of it is paid out to you. Feedhood does not file or pay tax for you. The rules are different in every country and region. In Canada, for example, most businesses must register for GST/HST after they earn more than $30,000 in 12 months. Please ask the tax authority in your country or an accountant.

No. Feedhood does not require a permit, licence or certificate to sign up, set up your kitchen or open your store. But the law where you live may require them before you sell food, and you are responsible for following those rules. The answers in this section are general information, not legal advice. Please check with your city and your local health authority. When you have your documents, add them on the Licences & permits page. Our team checks them and gives you the green check mark, which many buyers look for first.

None before you open. Your store can open and take orders without any documents. On the Licences & permits page you see the documents that are usual for your kind of store where you are, for example a food safety certificate, a health permit or a business licence. Each one is marked Requested or Optional. Upload a photo or a PDF whenever you are ready. Our team checks each one and tells you the result. We remind you now and then until the requested ones are in: a week after you open, then about once a month. Choose "Remind me later" to pause the reminders for 30 days. Two features need a document first: selling alcohol needs an approved liquor licence, and hosting dine-in meals at your home needs the owner's photo ID.

The green check mark tells buyers that our team has looked at your food safety certificate. To get it, open Licences & permits and add your certificate: a photo or a PDF. Examples: a food handler certificate (in BC, FOODSAFE Level 1). Our team reviews it in 1 to 2 business days and tells you the result. If you are not sure which document to add, contact support. You can open your store first and add your documents later.

It depends on where you live and on what you cook. Each city and health authority has its own rules, so please ask them before you start. Example, Vancouver BC: health authorities in BC, such as Vancouver Coastal Health, generally do not allow food for sale to be made in a home kitchen. Online food sales are allowed when the food is made in an approved kitchen. That means either a kitchen that has its own health permit, or space you rent in a commercial kitchen. Some low risk foods are treated differently. See "Can I bake bread or cookies at home to sell?".

A commercial kitchen is a kitchen built and approved for making food to sell. It meets health rules: for example handwashing sinks, surfaces that are easy to clean, and safe storage. The health authority inspects it. Restaurants have one. There are also shared kitchens, often called commissary kitchens or community kitchens. They rent space to many small food businesses, such as home cooks and bakers.

Search for "shared kitchen" or "commissary kitchen" in your city. Most rent by the hour, the day or the month. Some also give you storage, equipment and a place to pack orders. Before you sign, ask what is included and what insurance you need. Ask to see the kitchen's health permit. Then cook your food there and sell it on Feedhood.

No. The rules depend on how risky the food is. Example, BC: the Food Premises Regulation does not cover places that only sell whole fresh fruit or vegetables, or only pre-packaged food that is not "potentially hazardous". Potentially hazardous food can grow harmful germs. Examples are meat, fish, dairy, eggs, cooked rice, cut fruit and cream cakes. These usually need an approved kitchen and a permit. Even for low risk food, your city can ask for a business licence, and your health authority can add conditions. Always ask before you start.

Maybe. Bread and dry cookies made without milk, eggs or cream do not spoil easily, so they are low risk foods. In BC, the food premises rules do not cover places that only sell pre-packaged food that is not potentially hazardous, and sellers of such food at farmers markets often need no permit. Food safety training is still recommended. But rules about where the food is made, labels, allergens and business licences can still apply, and they are different in each city and health authority. Ask yours before you sell. If the answer is no, you can rent a table at a commercial kitchen and bake there.

It is a short food safety course. In BC it is called FOODSAFE Level 1. The BC regulation requires the operator of a food service establishment to hold it or an equivalent, and a certificate usually lasts 5 years. Many other places have a similar course, often called a food handler certificate. You can usually take it online. Even when it is not required, it is a good way to learn safe habits, and you can upload it to get the green check mark.

Most cities ask everyone who runs a business to have a business licence, even a home based one. Example: the City of Vancouver issues business licences, and for food businesses the health authority's rules apply as well. Check the website of your city or call city hall.

Feedhood does not require it. But many shared kitchens, markets and event hosts do ask for liability insurance, and it protects you if a customer is harmed. Ask an insurance broker what suits your business.

Please do. Add the ingredients and diet labels to every dish on Feedhood. Many places also have labelling rules for packaged food, for example a list of the main allergens such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and soy. Ask your health authority what applies to you.

It depends on your local rules, so please ask your health authority before you host. Feedhood confirms the identity of every dine-in host with a photo ID, but this is not a permit and does not replace local rules. Example, BC: the food premises regulation excludes some bed and breakfasts in a private home, but not every home dinner.

No. Feedhood does not inspect kitchens. The green check mark only means our team looked at a document that you gave us. It is not a health inspection and not a guarantee. Sellers are always responsible for following local law.

Two offices, usually: 1. Your city hall, for business licences and where a business may operate. 2. Your local health authority, for food safety, permits and kitchens. It may be called a health department, a public health inspector or an environmental health officer. Example: in Vancouver BC, the health authority is Vancouver Coastal Health. Elsewhere in BC there are four other regional health authorities. In other countries, search for "food business permit" with the name of your city, or ask your local council.

Local authorities can ask you to stop selling and can issue fines. Getting the right advice before you start is easier, and it protects your buyers and your business.

Yes, and it costs nothing extra. If you already sell food on Feedhood, you are set up: same account, same payouts, same bank details. Feedhood takes 0% commission on tickets. The only cost is the card fee that every card payment has.

In person, online or with the place announced later. An event can be a single evening, or a series that repeats every week, every month, or on dates you choose. Each date becomes its own event, with its own seats, its own door check and its own payout.

Yes. The event shows only its neighbourhood, and the street address goes out with each ticket. This is the usual choice for a supper club at home.

Yes. Draw your room by dragging tables, chairs and a stage onto a plan, or upload your floor plan and let Feedhood find the sections and seats. Guests choose a seat when they book, and you can block any seat you want to keep open. Prefer no plan? Set a capacity and a price, and each ticket is simply a place. A standing section sells places up to its own capacity.

Yes. Saving a room makes a new version of it. An event that is already on sale keeps the version it sold, so a guest's seat never moves. You can move the event to the new version when no sold seat would change.

Free, paid, early bird, group and pay-what-you-can tickets. You choose how many of each, when each one goes on sale, and whether a ticket needs an access code.

Yes. Create a code with a percent or amount off, a number of uses and an end date. Uses are held while a buyer is paying, so the last one is never sold twice.

Point your phone camera at the QR code on the guest's ticket. It works without internet. Download the guest list before the event, and the scans upload when you are online again. You can also type a code by hand.

Yes. Each event has its own questions and answers section, with suggestions to start from. Guests read your answers before they book, so fewer people need to message you.

Turn on the waiting list. People ask for a place, and when one opens we tell one person at a time and give them a short time to buy. Telling someone reserves nothing.

You can add tax to ticket prices if your business collects it. It is calculated on every order and shown on the buyer's receipt. Tax on admissions is sometimes different from tax on prepared food, so please ask your accountant before you turn it on.

Ticket money is held until the event is over, plus a short review period. Then it is paid to the same bank account as your food orders. This protects buyers who paid for something that has not happened yet.

The buyer pays a delivery fee for the trip: a fee for the trip plus a fee for each kilometre, with a minimum, set for your area. All of it is yours, and so is the tip. Feedhood takes no part of either. The only amount taken from a payout is the card fee from Stripe, about 2.9% + 30 cents. You can also offer a slightly lower rate to be asked first. This is optional.

Tap "Become a driver" in your profile, choose your vehicle and upload your documents: 1. Photo ID or driver's licence, and a profile photo. 2. Insurance and registration, if you drive a car, motorcycle or scooter. 3. Your own criminal record check and, if you drive, a free ICBC driving record, both from the last 90 days. A person reviews them, usually within a day. Cycling and walking drivers need no insurance, registration or driving record. You can accept deliveries once your documents are approved.

Yes. Every driver brings their own criminal record check (MyCRC online, or local police), and drivers who use a motor vehicle also bring a free ICBC driving record. A person reviews each one. A check counts for 12 months, then you are asked for a new one. Having a record does not automatically disqualify you.

While you are online, Feedhood asks drivers near the kitchen one at a time, closest first. An offer shows the pickup, the drop-off, the distance and what you will earn, and you have a short time to accept. A customer or a kitchen can also choose you by name. Then you have about 10 minutes to accept. If you decline or do not answer, the offer goes to the next driver.

No. Feedhood drivers are not offered orders that contain alcohol. Those orders are picked up by the buyer, eaten at the seller's place, or delivered by the seller's own staff, who check ID at the door.

While you are online and on a delivery, the app uses your phone location. Feedhood uses it to find orders near you and to show the buyer an estimated arrival time and a live map.

When you arrive, take a photo of the drop-off in the app and complete the delivery. Your payout is sent after the delivery is complete.

Yes. Turn on "On break" in the app. You will not receive offers, and your badges and ratings stay the same.

You work for yourself. You need your own valid car or bicycle insurance for delivery work, and a delivery or commercial cover is recommended. Feedhood is not your employer. Please also check the local rules for delivery drivers where you live.