Privacy Policy

  1. Introduction

    Food Bank of Central New York ("FBCNY," "we," "us," or "our") values your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use (or interact with) our website, programs, or services - including when SNAP / EBT is accepted as a form of payment or benefit.

  2. Information We Collect

    We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with FBCNY:

    1. Personal Information you provide directly, for example: name, address, phone number, email address.
    2. Payment / Benefit Information if you use SNAP / EBT or other payment methods, we may collect the minimum necessary to process the benefit (without storing sensitive data longer than required).
    3. Website and Technical Data, such as cookies, device type, browser, IP address, and referring URLs. These help us improve the website and services.
  3. How We Use Your Information

    We may use your information for:

    1. Delivering services, distributing food, processing orders / benefits (including SNAP / EBT transactions).
    2. Communicating with you (e.g., notifications, confirmations, support, updates).
    3. Improving our programs, website, and operational effectiveness.
    4. Compliance with laws and regulations.
    5. Aggregated / anonymized data for research or planning (without identifying individuals).
  4. Sharing & Disclosure

    We do not sell or rent your personal data. We may share information as needed for:

    1. Our service partners or vendors who help with payment processing, logistics, program delivery. These partners are contractually obligated to protect your information.
    2. Legal or regulatory reasons if required by law.
    3. Reporting or audit purposes tied to grant programs (including SNAP / EBT related grants), to the extent necessary.
    4. Anonymized or aggregated data which cannot be traced back to individuals.
  5. SNAP / EBT Specific Protections

    Because we accept SNAP / EBT additional protections include:

    1. Minimizing the collection of sensitive data associated with benefits.
    2. Ensuring secure handling of any transaction or benefit claim data.
    3. Only retaining information as long as required per program or legal/regulatory obligations.
    4. Not using SNAP / EBT data for marketing or profiling beyond what is needed to deliver services.
  6. Cookies, Tracking & Preferences
    1. Explanation of cookies and tracking tools used (e.g. analytics tools).
    2. Options for users to opt-out or configure cookie preferences.
    3. Information about whether third-party services (e.g. Google Analytics) track usage and how.
  7. Security
    1. We use industry-standard security measures (firewalls, encryption, restricted access, periodic review, etc.).
    2. Staff or contractors who have access to personal information are bound by confidentiality and security requirements.
    3. No system is perfect — while we strive to protect your data, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
  8. Your Rights & Choices
    1. You can request to review, correct, or delete your personal information.
    2. You can opt-out of non-essential communications (emails, newsletters).
    3. If you believe your information is misused, you may contact us to report it.
    4. If required by state/federal law, inform individuals of rights under those laws (e.g. data protection / privacy rights).
  9. Retention of Data
    1. We will only keep personal or benefit-related data as long as necessary for program operation, legal requirements, and grant compliance.
    2. After that, data will be securely destroyed or archived per policy.
  10. Changes to This Policy
    1. We may update this policy periodically.
    2. We’ll post new version on our website, with "Last Updated" date to ensure transparency.