Food delivery platforms extract massive fees from restaurants while underpaying drivers. Community alternatives can keep money local while providing better conditions for workers and restaurants.
The Problem with Commercial Food Delivery
Exploitative Apps and Their Practices
DoorDash
- Charges restaurants 15-30% commission
- Misclassifies drivers as contractors
- Uses dark patterns to hide true costs
- Manipulates search results based on commissions
Uber Eats
- Takes 15-30% from restaurants
- Algorithmic wage suppression for drivers
- Surge pricing that doesn’t benefit drivers proportionally
- Locks restaurants into exclusivity deals
Grubhub
- Stacks multiple fees on restaurants
- Creates fake websites for restaurants
- Charges for phone calls even when no order placed
- Dominates through market consolidation
Impact on Communities
- Restaurants operate on 3-5% margins; 30% fees are devastating
- Drivers earn below minimum wage after expenses
- Money flows out of communities to corporate headquarters
- Local food culture becomes homogenized
CoopCycle (France)
Model: Federation of bike delivery cooperatives
- Worker-owners share in profits
- Open source platform available for reuse
- Federated structure allows local autonomy
- Covers 80+ cities across Europe
Key Success Factors:
- Started with passionate cyclists
- Built strong relationships with local restaurants
- Emphasized environmental benefits
- Created mutual support network between cities
Eva (Montreal)
Model: Women-driven ride and delivery cooperative
- Prioritizes safety for women drivers and customers
- Shares model with food delivery
- Democratic governance structure
- Reinvests profits in community services
Local Success Stories
- Pizzeria Collective (Madison, WI): Restaurants share delivery drivers
- Bike Brigade (Toronto): Volunteer delivery for community organizations
- Durham Co-op Market: Grocery delivery by member-workers
Implementation Guide
- Identify Core Team
- Find 5-10 committed organizers
- Include potential drivers and restaurant partners
- Connect with local cooperative development organizations
- Research Local Conditions
- Survey restaurants about delivery needs and pain points
- Talk to current delivery drivers about their experiences
- Analyze delivery patterns in your area
- Understand local regulations
- Develop Initial Model
- Decide on worker co-op vs multi-stakeholder model
- Set target commission rates (typically 5-15%)
- Plan initial service area (start small)
- Create basic financial projections
Phase 2: Technical Infrastructure (Months 3-6)
- Platform Options
- CoopCycle: Open source, ready to deploy
- Karrot: Community organizing platform adaptable for delivery
- Custom Build: Use our P2P architecture guide
- Essential Features
- Order management system
- Driver dispatch algorithm (fair, not exploitative)
- Payment processing (consider cooperative processors)
- Customer communication tools
- Safety Systems
- Driver screening and training
- Customer verification
- Incident reporting system
- Insurance requirements
Phase 3: Pilot Launch (Months 6-9)
- Start Small
- 5-10 restaurants
- 10-20 drivers
- Single neighborhood
- Limited hours initially
- Build Relationships
- Regular meetings with all stakeholders
- Transparent communication about challenges
- Celebrate early wins
- Document lessons learned
- Refine Operations
- Adjust dispatch algorithms for fairness
- Improve driver support systems
- Streamline restaurant onboarding
- Gather customer feedback
Phase 4: Sustainable Growth (Months 9+)
- Expand Carefully
- Add neighborhoods systematically
- Maintain quality over quantity
- Ensure democratic participation scales
- Build reserves before expanding
- Federation Opportunities
- Connect with other cities doing similar work
- Share technology improvements
- Coordinate advocacy efforts
- Create mutual aid networks
Financial Model
Revenue Structure
- 5-15% commission from restaurants (vs 15-30% commercial)
- Small delivery fee to customers ($1-3)
- Membership model for frequent users
- Grants and community investment
Cost Structure
- Driver wages and benefits (60-70% of revenue)
- Technology infrastructure (10-15%)
- Insurance and safety (10-15%)
- Administration and growth (5-10%)
Path to Sustainability
- Break even with 50-100 active restaurants
- Reinvest surpluses in better wages and expansion
- Build community wealth instead of extracting it
Resources and Support
Technical Resources
Organizing Support
Funding Opportunities
Take Action
Ready to build a community-owned food delivery alternative? Here’s how to start:
- Join our community to connect with others working on similar projects
- Download resources including business plan templates and technical guides
- Schedule a consultation with successful co-op delivery organizers
- Share this page with others in your community who care about fair delivery
Together, we can build food delivery systems that serve communities, not corporate profits.