Our Commitment

Food Banks Canada is a national charitable organization dedicated to helping Canadians living with hunger. We have a network of affiliated food banks and partners across Canada, which includes 10 Provincial Associations and more than 500 food banks. 

Food Banks Canada is committed to protecting the privacy and the personal information of its network, donors, employees, other stakeholders, and users of our Website. Food Banks Canada values the trust of those we deal with and of the public. We recognize that maintaining this trust requires full transparency and accountability in how we treat the personal information that you may choose to share with us. 

This policy describes: 

• How we collect, use, disclose, and protect the personal information of our customers and website users (you). 
• Describes the types of information we may collect from you, or that you may provide when you visit the website https://www.foodbankscanada.ca (our Website). 
• Our practices for collecting, using, maintaining, protecting, and disclosing that information. 

By using our Website, or by otherwise choosing to submit personal information to us, you signify your consent to all of the terms of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use this Website or submit any personal information to us. 

Food Banks Canada adheres to the privacy principles from the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) as laid out in this present Privacy Policy.

Updating of Privacy Policy

We review our privacy practices for our various activities and reserve the right to modify or update our policy. Please check this Website on an ongoing basis for information on our most up-to-date practices. We will indicate at the bottom of this page the date this Privacy Policy was last revised. Your continued access or use of this Website after any such changes constitutes your acceptance of the Privacy Policy as revised. 

Links to Third Party Sites

Our Website may offer links to other third-party websites, plug-ins, services, social networks, or applications. Clicking on those links or enabling those connections may allow the third party to collect and share data about you. You should be aware that operators of linked websites might also collect your personal information (including information generated through the use of cookies) when you link to their websites.  Food Banks Canada is not responsible for how such third parties collect, use, or disclose your personal information, so it is important to familiarize yourself with their privacy policies before providing them with your personal information. 

What is Personal Information?

Personal information is any information that can be reasonably used to directly or indirectly identify an individual and may include an individual’s name, address, email, telephone number, age, internet protocol (IP) address, financial information, etc. Personal information does not include most business contact information such as the name, position, title, business address, or business telephone or fax number of an individual.  

Privacy Principles

Food Banks Canada is committed to the following 10 privacy principles under PIPEDA:

1) Accountability

• Food Banks Canada is responsible for personal information in our custody or under our control. We have designated the Privacy Officer to be accountable for Food Banks Canada’s compliance with PIPEDA. There are other individuals within Food Banks Canada who are responsible for day-to-day collection and management of personal information. 

• Food Banks Canada has policies and procedures in place to implement and comply with this Privacy Policy, including procedures relating to the collection, handling, disclosure, storage, and destruction of personal information. 

• Food Banks Canada is responsible for personal information transferred to a third party for processing. Food Banks Canada uses contractual means to provide a comparable level of protection for the transferred information. Food Banks Canada requires all third parties to adhere to this Privacy Policy, PIPEDA, and any other applicable law regarding the protection of personal information. 

2) Identifying Purposes

Food Banks Canada collects and uses personal information for the following purposes: 

• To provide tax receipts when users make an online donation or use other services 
• To allow users to create or register for a Food Banks Canada account and to manage those accounts 
• To administer pre-authorized recurring donations  
• To generate statistics and aggregate reports for internal and external use 
• To communicate directly with users, including through Food Banks Canada service news and updates, charitable promotions, and charitable stories we think will be of interest to you, or other forms of communications 
• To provide support and help to our network of affiliated food banks and partners 
• To present our Website and its contents to you 
• To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us 
• To fulfill the purposes for which you provided the information, or that were described when it was collected, or any other purpose for which you provide it 
• To improve our Website, services, fundraising, or donor and volunteer relationships and experiences 
• For research purposes 
• In any other way we may describe when you provide the information 
• For any other purpose with your consent 

3) Consent to use your personal information

• Food Banks Canada collects personal information about you only when you voluntarily provide it, or otherwise only with your consent as required by PIPEDA or by other applicable law 
• Food Banks Canada will seek consent for the use or disclosure of personal information at the time of its collection 
• Food Banks Canada will not, as a condition of our programs and services, require you to consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of information beyond that is required to fulfill the specified and legitimate purposes for which the information is being provided 
• Upon giving Food Banks Canada reasonable notice, an individual may withdraw consent to use his or her personal information at any time, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions 
• If you wish to withdraw your consent, please contact the Privacy Officer of Food Banks Canada as described below and we will inform you of the implications of withdrawing consent 
• If you do not wish to receive communications from us or participate in more personalized information and services, you may easily unsubscribe by following the directions provided in the communication, or by contacting the Privacy Officer of Food Banks Canada as described below 
• By visiting and using any of Food Banks Canada’s websites, the visitor agrees to the Privacy Policy and the terms of use linked to in this Privacy Policy. https://www.foodbankscanada.ca/Terms-of-Use/  
• If you do not agree to the Privacy Policy or Terms of Use, do not use this Website or provide personal information to Food Banks Canada 

4) Limiting Collection

Food Banks Canada limits the collection of personal information to that which is reasonably necessary for the identified purpose.

The types of information Food Banks Canada collects can be summarized as follows: 

1. Personal Information provided to Food Banks Canada: Food Banks Canada collects certain personal information directly from individuals who interact with us, including the following:
   • Contact information (such as name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number); 
   • Financial and billing information (such as credit card number/expiration date, broker, and financial advisor information);  
   • Donation history (such as amount donated and charities donated to); 
   • Tax receipt information; and
   • Account username and password information
2. Non-Personal Information: When donors, volunteers, charities, and other organizations access the secure section of our website, anonymous, non-personal information about their visit is automatically collected. This information may include the date of the visit, how the visitor uses the website, the length of the visit, what pages the visitor viewed, the type of browser and operating system being used, and the domain name of the visitor’s Internet service provider. Food Banks Canada may also collect statistics that describe how our visitors use our site. This information might include the average donation amount; the geographic breakdown of donations by area, what times of the day have the heaviest traffic, and which type of charity receives the most gifts. This information, collected in the aggregate, allows Food Banks Canada to better serve donors and its network of affiliated food banks and partners. None of these statistics reveal any personally identifiable or individual information and Food Banks Canada does not use any of this information to identify individuals. In certain cases, for the purposes of fraud detection and mitigation, IP addresses are collected in order to protect Food Banks Canada against possible illegal activities. 
3. Cookie-based Information: Sometimes we may use cookie technology, web beacons, and other similar devices on our Website to enhance functionality and navigation for our visitors.  A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting, you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website. Cookies do not collect or contain your personal information. Web beacons are small electronic files (also referred to as clear gifs, pixel tags, and single-pixel gifs) that permit Food Banks Canada, for example, to count users who have visited those pages or opened an email and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). 

Information tracked through these mechanisms includes, but is not limited to: (i) your IP address; (ii) the type of web browser and operating system being used; (iii) the pages of the Web site a user visits; and (iv) other Web sites a user visited before visiting this website.

5) Limiting Use, Disclosure and Retention

• Food Banks Canada does not use or disclose personal information for purposes other than those for which it was collected, except with the consent of the individual or as permitted or required by law 
• Food Banks Canada may have to disclose personal information to satisfy a law, regulation or government request, or to satisfy a subpoena, search warrant or legitimate court order 
• Food Banks Canada may share personal information with third parties engaged to assist us in providing our services—such third parties will be contractually bound to protect your personal information as explained above under “Accountability” 
• Food Banks Canada reserves the right to disclose and/or transfer personal information to a third party in the event of a proposed or actual purchase, sale, lease, merger, amalgamation, or any other type of acquisition, disposal, transfer, or conveyance of all or any portion of Food Banks Canada in order for you to continue to receive the same services from the third party 
• Food Banks Canada retains personal information only as long as is necessary for the fulfillment of those purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law, and your consent to such purposes(s) remains valid after termination of our relationship with you 
• Food Banks Canada does not disclose credit card account information provided by users except to the appropriate banking institutions or payment processing provider in order to process a credit or debit authorization for payment, or to resolve a dispute

6) Accuracy

Food Banks Canada takes reasonable effort to keep personal information accurate, complete, and as up-to-date as is necessary for the purposes for which it is being used. Individuals are permitted to check on the accuracy of their personal information and may request or make modifications or corrections, if necessary. 

7) Safeguards

Food Banks Canada personnel are authorized to access personal information based only on their need to deal with the information for the reason(s) for which it was obtained. Safeguards are in place to help ensure the information is not disclosed or shared more widely than is necessary to achieve the purpose for which it was gathered, or those permitted under this Privacy Policy. We also use physical, electronic, and administrative measures to help ensure the integrity of this information is maintained and to prevent personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. All Food Banks Canada’s staff members are made aware of the need to maintain strict confidentiality of all personal information. 

Food Banks Canada uses advanced security to help protect your personal information. Our electronic donation service is secured with SSL encryption. All sensitive online information collected is secured via SSL encryption and protected by a firewall. Whenever sensitive information is transmitted, such as a credit card number, our server provides 128-bit encryption of the information as it travels across the internet. Food Banks Canada restricts internal access to personal information to selected members of Food Banks Canada’s employees.  

Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we are committed to protecting your personal information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide to us.

Personal Information we collect is maintained with the source of the information at Mississauga ON. 

Some or all of the personal information we collect may be stored or processed on servers located outside your jurisdiction of residence, including in the United States, whose data protection laws may differ from the jurisdiction in which you live. As a result, this information may be subject to access requests from governments, courts, or law enforcement in those jurisdictions according to laws in those jurisdictions. Subject to applicable laws in such other jurisdictions, we will use reasonable efforts to ensure that appropriate protections are in place to require the data processor in those countries to maintain protections on the personal information that are equivalent to those that apply in Canada.

8) Openness

Food Banks Canada makes information about our policies and practices related to the management of personal information readily available to users of our service and the general public. Our Privacy Policy, which informs users of the type of information we collect, what it is used for, and to whom the information may be disclosed, is posted on our website. Additional information about our privacy policies and practices can be obtained from the Privacy Officer as described below.

9) Individual Access

Upon request, Food Banks Canada will:

i) Inform users of the existence and use of their personal information.
ii) Inform users whether their personal information has been disclosed to any authorized third parties.
iii) Provide users with access to their personal information in our custody or under our control subject to legal restrictions.

Requests are to be directed to:

• Privacy Officer
• Address:  5090 Explorer Drive, Suite 203, Mississauga, ON, L4W 4T9 
• Phone: 905-602-5237
• Email: privacyofficer@foodbankscanada.ca

Food Banks Canada will make every effort to respond to requests for access to personal information in a reasonable and timely manner.

10) Challenging Compliance

Questions, concerns, or complaints relating to the Food Bank Canada Privacy Policy or the treatment of personal information should be e-mailed to Privacy Officer at  privacyofficer@foodbankscanada.ca or 2680 Matheson Blvd, Suite 102, Mississauga, ON, L4W 0A5. 

Further information on privacy and your rights in regard to your personal information may be found on the website of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada https://www.priv.gc.ca/en. 

Breach of Security

In the unlikely event of a breach in security, Food Banks Canada may be bound by the Breach of Security Safeguards Regulations under PIPEDA. In the event of becoming aware of a breach in security that poses a real risk of significant harm to users, Food Banks Canada will inform affected users of the breach directly and as soon as possible. Food Banks Canada will endeavour to provide as much required information under the Regulations to affected users as possible. Food Banks Canada is also committed to informing the Privacy Commissioner of any such breach. Food Banks Canada will keep a record of any breach in security for 24 months. 

Children’s Privacy

Food Banks Canada is committed to protecting the privacy of children and we do not knowingly solicit personal information from children. If a child has already provided us with personal information, his or her parent or guardian may contact us for the purpose of deleting this information.