Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • NPR

    Why Suburban Moms Are Delivering Your Groceries

    After two master's degrees and three children, Hilary Gordon is one of the women who now make up more than half of the contractors at food delivery apps like Instacart. NPR spent a day with her.
    by Alina Selyukh May 25, 2019 6 minutes
    "I had one day, I worked six hours and made $50. It really wasn't worth it. ... But it doesn't happen that often," says Hilary Gordon, who works as a shopper for the grocery-delivery app Instacart in Sacramento, Calif. "The other day I worked 11-and-a-half hours and made $265. Great? No. But good."

    At 6:30 am, four of five Gordon family members are roaming around their suburban Sacramento house — if you only count the humans. There's also four dogs, a bunny, a tortoise, chickens, ducks, goats, and a not-so-miniature miniature pig named Squiggy.

    Hilary Gordon is discussing the day's schedule with her husband in the middle of wrapping a breakfast sandwich for their 14-year-old, checking on cereal for their 17-year-old, and staring down their 11-year-old who just realized he forgot to finish today's math homework.

    Having time like this with her family is a major reason why Gordon, 47, works as a shopper for the grocery-delivery app Instacart, in a suburb of Sacramento. "I find it fun. It gives me something to do, I'm not out spending money. And I love the flexibility," she says.

    Instacart is one of a slew of similar apps — DoorDash, Postmates, Shipt — paying tens of thousands of workers like Gordon to deliver packages, food or

    You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

    More from NPR

    NPR3 min read
    Bearing Witness, Celebrating Strength: How Poetry Has Changed Lives For NPR's Audience
    From sparking the imagination to helping with mental health, listen to poems read by NPR readers and see how poetry has affected their lives.
    NPR3 min readAmerican Government
    Who Is Hope Hicks, The Former Trump Adviser Testifying In New York Criminal Trial?
    Hope Hicks was a communications director for the Trump White House and prosecutors may question her on her knowledge of the deals made during his first presidential run.
    NPR3 min read
    Scientists Welcome New Rules On Marijuana, But Research Will Still Face Obstacles
    When marijuana becomes a Schedule III instead of a Schedule I substance under federal rules, researchers will face fewer barriers to studying it. But there will still be some roadblocks for science.

    Related Books & Audiobooks