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Henderson County Food Finder — Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 16, 2026
Last Revised: September 16, 2026

1. About This Policy

This Privacy Policy (the "Policy") describes how the Henderson County Food Finder website at fastroots.org/food-finder, also reachable at hcfoodfinder.org (the "Site"), handles information about visitors to the Site ("Visitors", "Users", or "you"). The Site is operated by FastRoots LLC ("FastRoots," "we," "us," or "our"), in partnership with the Community Foundation of Henderson County ("CFHC"). The food assistance provider directory shown on the Site (the "Directory") is owned and curated by CFHC.

This Policy applies to the Site and to embedded versions of the Food Finder displayed on third-party websites that CFHC has authorized. It does not apply to those third-party websites generally, and it does not apply to the websites of food assistance providers that may be linked from the Site.

The Site is a free public directory and map. You do not need to create an account, sign in, or submit any personal information to find a food assistance provider. We collect as little information as we reasonably can.

By accessing or using the Site, you agree that the terms of this Privacy Policy are acceptable to you, and you agree to be bound also by the Terms of Use, which is incorporated by reference and available at fastroots.org/food-finder/terms (the "Terms"). If you do not agree to the Terms and the Privacy Policy, you may not use the Site.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide Directly

The Site does not require you to create an account or submit personal information to use it. We do not operate a contact form, mailing list, or SMS opt-in through the Site.

If at any time the Site offers an optional feature that allows Visitors to submit information (for example, reporting an outdated provider listing), the form will identify what is collected and how it is used at the point of submission. Information submitted through such a form will be handled in accordance with this Policy and any additional notice provided at the time.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting provider and Google Analytics 4 automatically receive standard technical information that web browsers send. This typically includes:

  • your IP address;
  • your approximate geographic location, derived from your IP address;
  • your browser type, operating system, language, and device type;
  • the date and time of your visit;
  • the pages you view on the Site, the order in which you view them, and the time you spend on each;
  • the website or search engine that referred you to the Site, if any; and
  • interactions with map features (for example, which provider pins or filters you click).

We use this information in aggregate form to understand how the Site is being used, to improve it, to detect and prevent abuse, and to report to CFHC on Site activity. We do not use this information, alone or in combination with other data, to identify you personally.

2.3 Cookies and Similar Technologies

The Site uses Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the Site. To do this, Google Analytics sets two cookies on your browser: a cookie that distinguishes one visitor from another (the "_ga" cookie) and a cookie that tracks the current session (a "_ga_" cookie tied to our specific Google Analytics property). These cookies do not contain your name, email address, or any other directly identifying information; they hold a randomly generated identifier. Google Analytics also uses your IP address to derive your approximate geographic location, but the IP address itself is not stored. The Site does not use any other cookies for tracking, advertising, or cross-site profiling. We have configured Google Analytics to disable Google signals and ads personalization, so the data collected through Google Analytics on the Site is not used by Google to personalize advertising. You can control or block cookies through your browser settings; doing so may affect how the Site functions but will not prevent you from finding food assistance providers.

2.4 Information Shared with Mapping and Geocoding Services

The Site displays maps using OpenStreetMap. When you view the map, your browser requests map imagery directly from OpenStreetMap's servers, which reveals your IP address and approximately which area of the map you are viewing. When you search by address or use your device's location, your browser sends that address or location directly to Nominatim, a geocoding service operated by the OpenStreetMap Foundation, to convert it to a map position; FastRoots does not receive it. The OpenStreetMap Foundation's handling of that information is governed by its own privacy policy, available at osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.

If you request directions, the Site opens your device's map application (for example, Google Maps or Apple Maps), and that application's privacy policy governs the information you enter there. We do not receive a copy of the addresses you enter into a map application.

2.5 Information About Children

The Site is intended for general audiences and is not intended for use by children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 years of age. If you believe a child under 13 years of age has submitted information to us, please contact us using the information in Section 9, and we will delete the information promptly.

2.6 Food Finder Activity Records

To help CFHC understand where food assistance is needed, the Site records anonymous usage events on FastRoots' own servers: which provider listings are opened, when directions are requested, which filters are used, terms typed into the provider-name search box, and the date and time of each event. When you search by address or use your device's location, your browser converts that location to a U.S. Census tract (an area of roughly 1,500 to 3,000 residents) before anything is sent to us; we record only the tract (or a marker that the search was outside Henderson County), the number of results returned, and the filters applied. We never receive or store the address, the map coordinates, your IP address, or any identifier that would link one event to another or to you. These records are shared with CFHC through a secure reporting tool as described in Section 4.1.

3. How We Use Information

We use the limited information described above for the following purposes:

  • to operate, maintain, and secure the Site;
  • to understand which providers and features are most useful to neighbors and to improve the Site;
  • to prepare aggregate reports for CFHC about how the Site is used (for example, total visits, popular search filters, geographic distribution of users at the county or zip-code level, and census-tract-level search activity as described in Section 2.6);
  • to detect, investigate, and prevent abuse, fraud, or violations of our Terms of Use; and
  • to comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from public authorities.

We do not use information collected through the Site for advertising, profiling, or sale of any kind.

4. How We Share Information

We share information only as described in this Policy.

4.1 With CFHC

We share aggregate, non-identifying analytics reports and the Food Finder activity records described in Section 2.6 with CFHC so that CFHC can evaluate how the Site is serving the community and report to its board, donors, and partners. We do not share IP addresses or other identifiers with CFHC except to the extent CFHC has direct login access to the analytics platform on which those reports are produced. Access to this platform shall be limited internally by CFHC to necessary employees, and CFHC will implement reasonable account security measures. CFHC may use the aggregated, non-identifying information in solicitations to the public or in other marketing materials, none of which will identify any specific User.

4.2 With Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to host the Site and deliver analytics, and the Site relies on OpenStreetMap services for mapping and geocoding as described in Section 2.4. These providers receive only the information they need to perform their services and are bound by their own privacy obligations. The current providers are named herein, and are otherwise available to Visitors upon written request.

4.3 For Legal and Safety Reasons

We may disclose information if we have a good-faith belief that doing so is necessary to comply with a law, regulation, court order, subpoena, or other legal process; to enforce our Terms of Use; to investigate or address suspected fraud, abuse, or security incidents; or to protect the rights, property, or safety of FastRoots, CFHC, our Users, or the public.

4.4 In a Business Transition

If FastRoots is involved in a merger, acquisition, asset sale, financing, or similar transaction, information collected through the Site may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will require any successor to honor the commitments made in this Policy.

4.5 We Do Not Sell Personal Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade information collected through the Site. We do not share it with advertisers.

4.6 Breach Notification

Upon discovery of a suspected security incident in which any information collected by the Site is accessed or disseminated other than as set forth in this Policy, each of FastRoots and CFHC shall promptly notify the other, cooperate with any investigation into the incident, and jointly determine and carry out any notification required under North Carolina's breach notification statute or other applicable law.

5. How Long We Keep Information

Server logs maintained by our hosting provider are retained for no more than 30 days for security and troubleshooting purposes, after which they are deleted. Google Analytics user-level and event-level data is retained for 14 months from the date of collection, after which it is automatically deleted by Google. The Food Finder activity records described in Section 2.6 contain no personal identifiers and are retained for as long as they are needed for community reporting. Aggregate, non-identifying reports derived from analytics data may be retained by FastRoots and CFHC indefinitely for historical reporting purposes and/or the purposes set forth in Section 4 herein.

6. How We Protect Information

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect information collected through the Site, including encryption in transit (HTTPS) and access controls on the systems that host the Site and its analytics. No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Choices

  • Browser controls. You can configure your browser to refuse cookies, to alert you when cookies are being sent, or to delete cookies after each session. If the Site uses cookies and you block them, some features may not work as intended.
  • Do Not Track. Some browsers send a "Do Not Track" signal. Because there is no consistent industry standard for how to interpret these signals, we do not currently respond to them. The Site does not engage in cross-site tracking regardless of any signal.
  • Mapping services. Your interactions with OpenStreetMap services are governed by the OpenStreetMap Foundation's privacy policy. If you open directions in a map application on your device, that application's privacy controls apply.

8. State Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under your state's privacy laws to request access to, correction of, or deletion of personal information that a business holds about you, and to opt out of certain processing. Because the Site collects only limited technical information (such as pseudonymous analytics identifiers, IP addresses held briefly in server logs, and approximate IP-derived locations) that we do not use to identify individuals, in most cases we have no personal information to access, correct, or delete. If you believe we hold personal information about you, please contact us using the information in Section 9 and we will respond as required by law.

9. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Policy or about how the Site handles information, please contact:

Community Foundation of Henderson County
301 S Main St Suite 200, Hendersonville, NC 28792
info@cfhcforever.org
(828) 697-6224
FastRoots LLC
PO Box 6731, Asheville, NC 28806
info@fastroots.org

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Last Revised" date above. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the updated Privacy Policy, you may not use the Site.