Stalk Market · Boulder County, Colorado
Steward Terms of Service
These terms set the working relationship between you, as a Steward, and Stalk Market — the member-owned local food platform that connects Boulder County households to the farms and makers who feed them.
By listing your Shares on Stalk Market and accepting payment through the Platform, you agree to these terms. They replace any earlier understanding about your work as a Steward. Read them in full — they cover how you get paid, what we expect from you, and what happens if either side wants to walk away.
01Words we use
A few terms carry specific meanings throughout these terms:
- Cohort
- The group of Members whose Share purchases are bundled into the same Season Quarter enrollment window.
- Dividends
- The food and goods Members receive when they claim against their Share — "claiming dividends."
- Hub
- The physical or organizational anchor point where Shares are handed off to Members. Yellow Barn Farm is the initial Hub.
- Member
- Anyone who has purchased a Share and is tied to your Node or Nook.
- Node / Nook
- Distribution points that sit beneath a Hub. A Node sits under a Hub; a Nook is the smallest unit, sitting under a Node.
- Performance Gate
- The conditions you must meet before your Final Installment is released. See section 4.
- Platform
- Stalk Market itself — the technology, network, and operational framework.
- Season Quarter
- One of four enrollment and payout windows each year: Spring (Mar 1–15), Summer (Jun 1–15), Fall (Sep 1–15), and Winter (Dec 1–15).
- Seed Bank
- The Platform's shared reserve fund, used to invest in common infrastructure — freezers, coolers, shelving, bins, bags — that every Party draws on.
- Share
- A pre-purchased allotment of local food made available through the Platform in a given season.
- Share Revenue
- The gross amount the Platform collects from Members for Share purchases tied to your Cohort in a given Season Quarter.
02Your role as a Steward
Stalk Market lists you as an independent contractor whose job is to produce and fulfill the Shares your Members subscribe to. The listing is non-exclusive. The Platform connects you with Members and helps them discover you — it is not a party to what you produce or how you produce it.
What you agree to do
- Produce or prepare the product described in your listed Shares, to the standard and quantity you specified when you listed them.
- Deliver requested dividends to the assigned Hub or Node within each Season Quarter's fulfillment window, coordinating with the Hub or Node operator.
- Keep your Share listings accurate — availability, pricing, and dividend schedules.
- Tell the Hub or Node in advance about any shortfall, quality issue, or missed delivery.
- Follow every food safety law, labeling rule, and production regulation that applies to your Share type.
Licensing is on you
You are solely responsible for getting and keeping every license, certification, or exemption you need to legally produce and distribute your Shares — a Food Cottage License, a Private Membership Agreement, or whatever framework fits your method. Stalk Market makes no claim about whether any approach is legally sufficient and takes no responsibility for your production, distribution, or food safety practices.
No marketing required
You are not asked to recruit Members, run marketing, or promote the Platform. Member acquisition and outreach belong to the Hub or Node operator. Your only obligation is to produce and fulfill the Shares Members subscribed to.
You're an independent contractor
You are not an employee, partner, agent, or joint venturer of Stalk Market or any Hub or Node operator. In practical terms, you are hired directly by the Members who subscribe to your Shares, and you handle your own taxes, insurance, and compliance on what you earn here. Nothing in these terms creates an employment relationship with Stalk Market.
No authority to bind us
You cannot sign contracts, make representations, or take on obligations on Stalk Market's behalf without our prior written approval.
03How you get paid
Your pay is a percentage of the Share Revenue your Cohort generates each Season Quarter. It comes to you across three consecutive Season Quarters in a waterfall: 40% up front, then 30%, then a final 30%.
The waterfall
- First Installment — 40% of Share Revenue, paid within five business days after the enrollment window closes.
- Second Installment — 30%, paid within five business days after the next Season Quarter's enrollment window opens.
- Final Installment — 30%, paid within five business days after the second following Season Quarter opens, once the Performance Gate (section 4) is met.
Because the layers stack, by your third active Season Quarter you'll receive a blended payout drawing on up to three batches at once:
| Quarter | Layer 1 — Current | Layer 2 — Prior | Layer 3 — Two Prior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 40% of Spring | — | — |
| Summer | 40% of Summer | +30% of Spring | — |
| Fall | 40% of Fall | +30% of Summer | +30% of Spring* |
| Winter | 40% of Winter | +30% of Fall | +30% of Summer* |
* The third-layer 30% is released only after the Performance Gate is satisfied.
Purchases made between windows
Shares bought between enrollment windows wait in a pending queue and join the next Season Quarter's batch, following the same 40/30/30 schedule.
Large purchases
Big or multiple purchases inside one enrollment window roll into that quarter's batch total. They follow the same waterfall — there's no separate or faster payout for large orders.
How we pay you
Payment is by ACH transfer, check, or another method we agree to in writing. Give us your current banking or payment details when you sign on, and tell us promptly if anything changes.
04The performance gate
Your Final Installment (the last 30%) on any batch releases only when all three of these are true:
- Fulfillment rate: at least 85% of the batch's Shares were fulfilled and claimed by Members during the season.
- No open disputes: no unresolved Member complaints or Platform escalations are pending against you for that Cohort.
- Season Summary Report: you've submitted a complete, accurate report for the Season Quarter.
We'll assess the gate within ten business days after the Season Quarter closes and tell you our decision in writing.
Partial credit. If you've substantially but not fully met the gate, we may release the Final Installment in whole or in part, based on a good-faith read of your performance. Any partial release is documented in writing.
Forfeiture. If the gate stays unmet for two Season Quarters past the date the Final Installment would have been due, and you haven't fixed the gap, that installment is forfeited and contributed to the Seed Bank.
05Member cancellations & refunds
These rules govern how Members get their money back, which affects what flows to you.
Cancellation policy
Members holding a Quarter, Half, or Full Share can cancel for a full refund any time within the 15-day enrollment window in which they bought. Once that window closes and payouts reach Stewards, those purchases are final — no refunds afterward unless the Member, you, and the Platform all agree in writing.
Single Shares can be bought any time and cancelled for a refund any time before the next enrollment window opens, minus the value of any dividends already claimed.
Community Contribution
Every Member pays a one-time Community Contribution when they join. It is non-refundable in all cases, even cancellations that otherwise qualify for a refund. These funds pool into shared commons infrastructure — refrigeration, storage, distribution — that serves the whole Platform.
06Non-compete & non-solicitation
Non-compete
While these terms are in effect and for twelve months after they end for any reason, you won't directly or indirectly operate, manage, consult for, or hold an ownership stake in any share-based, subscription-based, or community-supported food distribution platform that competes with Stalk Market in Boulder, Larimer, or Denver County, Colorado.
Non-solicitation
During the same period, you won't solicit, or try to solicit, any Platform Member for direct-to-consumer sales.
Reasonableness
You acknowledge the geographic and time limits above are reasonable and necessary to protect the Platform's legitimate interests, its Member relationships, and its systems. If a court finds any part unenforceable, it should be narrowed only as far as needed to make it enforceable.
07Term & ending the relationship
Initial term
These terms start on your effective date and run one year. They renew automatically for further one-year terms unless either side gives written notice of non-renewal at least 30 days before the current term ends.
Either side can end without cause
You or the Platform may end this without cause on 30 days' written notice. If the Platform ends it without cause, you keep all earned and gated installments for batches in progress, still subject to the Performance Gate.
When we can end it for cause
The Platform may end this immediately, in writing, if you:
- Materially breach these terms and don't cure it within ten business days of written notice;
- Commit fraud, willful misconduct, or criminal conduct affecting the Platform or its Members;
- Fall below the Minimum Cohort Requirement for two consecutive Season Quarters;
- Violate the non-compete or non-solicitation terms in section 6.
If we end it for cause, you forfeit all unpaid installments, including any pending Second and Final Installments for batches in progress.
After it ends
When this ends, you'll stop calling yourself a Stalk Market Steward, help transition your Member relationships to the Platform or a successor Steward, and return or delete any of the Platform's confidential information you hold.
08Confidentiality
You'll keep the Platform's non-public information confidential — Member data, financials, farm-partner relationships, technology, and Platform methodology. Don't share it with anyone outside the Platform without our written consent, except where the law requires it. This duty lasts three years after these terms end.
09Your promises to us
Each side promises the other that it has the authority to agree to these terms, that doing so doesn't conflict with another agreement, and that it will hold up its end lawfully.
You additionally promise that you aren't already bound by a non-compete or exclusivity deal that would stop you from working as a Steward, and that you'll carry appropriate insurance for any physical distribution you take on in this role.
10Limits on liability
11If we disagree
We resolve disputes in stages:
- Good-faith negotiation first — 30 calendar days from written notice of the dispute.
- Non-binding mediation next, with a neutral mediator we agree on (or one chosen by the American Arbitration Association). Costs are split evenly.
- Binding arbitration if mediation fails — administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, held in Boulder County, Colorado. The arbitrator's decision is final and may be entered as a judgment in any competent court.
These terms are governed by Colorado law, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. For anything not subject to arbitration, both sides consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state or federal courts in Boulder County, Colorado.
12The fine print
- Entire agreement. These terms are the complete agreement on this subject and replace earlier negotiations and understandings. Changes need to be in writing and signed by both sides.
- Severability. If one provision is invalid, the rest stay in force.
- Waiver. A waiver counts only if it's in writing. Not enforcing a provision once doesn't waive the right to enforce it later.
- Assignment. You can't assign these terms or your rights without our written consent. The Platform may assign them in a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all its assets.
- Notices. Notices must be in writing and sent by email with confirmation of receipt, or by certified mail, to the addresses each side provides.
- Counterparts & e-signatures. These terms may be accepted in counterparts, and electronic signatures are valid.