Barter Kitchen is a small platform with a narrow purpose. The things below are not allowed. They are not allowed in messages, in profiles, in event descriptions, in barter offers, or anywhere else.
Sex and romance
This is not a dating service. Offers framed as romantic or sexual exchange are prohibited, and accounts that solicit them are removed. Mentioning a partner, a date, or a family member is fine. Framing the meal itself as a sexual encounter is not.
Drugs as currency
Recreational drugs, prescription drugs being sold, and drug- related barter arrangements are prohibited. Two adults mentioning that they enjoy a glass of wine over dinner is fine. A cook offering a plate in exchange for any controlled substance is not.
Money in the middle
Soliciting cash, Cash App, Venmo, Zelle, crypto, or any other form of payment for a meal is prohibited. Barter Kitchen exists because the meal is not for sale. The moment money changes hands, this stops being a barter table and starts being an unlicensed restaurant — which is illegal in most jurisdictions and outside the platform's purpose.
Threats and harassment
Threats, slurs, harassment, and doxxing are removed on first sight. We will not warn, we will not negotiate, and the audit log shows the decision.
Illegal labor
Offers of labor that would be illegal — child labor, coerced labor, anything in exchange for a meal that violates wage and hour law — are prohibited. Adults trading their own time for a meal is the point of the platform; people being forced to do anything is not.
Address disclosure
Sharing a cook's full street address before the platform has shared it is not allowed. We share addresses only after both sides have agreed to meet — usually after a meal has been confirmed. Approximate neighborhoods are fine.