MealTrain.com Privacy Policy

Last Updated: May 28th, 2024

Meal Train LLC ("Meal Train," "we" or "us") respects the privacy of its users. This Privacy Policy (the “Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) is part of our Terms of Service, which govern use of our website, www.mealtrain.com (the “Website”) and our Services (as defined below). This Privacy Policy is intended to describe for individuals who are users (hereinafter, “you” or “users”) of the Website and/or Services:

• the information we collect;
• why we collect that information;
• how that information may be used;
• with whom it may be shared;
• the choices you may have regarding the information we have collected about you.

This Privacy Policy applies to information which we ask that you provide to us in order to use our Services, as well as information which we obtain by tracking and analyzing your use of the Services. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information you disclose to us (whether through the Services, via email, or through any other means) without our asking for or tracking it. This Policy also does not apply to information that you provide or make accessible to parties other than Meal Train. Disclosure of information to any such third parties is subject to the relevant third party’s privacy policy. We are not responsible or liable for any third party’s privacy policy or practices, even if we link to the third party’s services from our Services.

We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully when using the Services. By using any part of the Services, you acknowledge the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as outlined in this Policy. If you have any questions about our privacy practices, please contact us at contact@mealtrain.com, through the Contact Us form, or by writing to us at:

Meal Train LLC
50 Lakeside Avenue , Box 80
Burlington, VT 05401

Overview of Services

The Website offers a service that allows for the creation of a community meal coordination service (a "Meal Train") for a recipient, sending invitations to friends, receiving invitations, booking dates for meal delivery, sending donations and gift cards, and researching etiquette tips and tools, (herein referred to as the "Service" or "Meal Train Service," and together with the Website, collectively, the “Services”).

Why we collect your information

Meal Train gathers information, including personal information, mainly to communicate with you, to provide the Services to you, to process your orders, and to otherwise conduct business with you, but also to help improve our products and customer service, to provide an enhanced and more personalized Website experience, and to inform you, and your gift, donation, and message recipients, of special offers and discounts from us and certain third parties. For individuals subject to the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union ("EU") or the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ("UK"), our processing of your personal information is justified on the following legal bases:

• the processing is necessary to perform a contract with you or take steps to enter into a contract at your request;
• the processing is necessary for us to comply with a relevant legal obligation;
• the processing is in our legitimate interests, subject to your interests and fundamental rights, and notably our legitimate interest in using applicable data to conduct and develop our business activities; or
• you have consented to the processing.

Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect some or all of the following categories of information:

• Information you or other users provide. We may collect and store any personal information you enter on our Website or through our Services, including your name, mailing address, email address, image, telephone number, user ID, and password, as well as your gift or donation recipient name(s), recipient mailing address(es), recipient email address(es), recipient phone number(s), and recipient personal meal or product preferences.

• Information collected automatically (“Cookies”). When you visit our Website, we may assign your computer one or more cookies to facilitate access to our Website and to personalize your online experience. Using these cookies, we automatically collect information from your browser when you visit our Website, including your IP address, your browser type and language, access times, the content of any undeleted cookies that your browser previously accepted from us, and the referring website address. Through the use of a cookie, we also may automatically collect information about your online activity on our Website, such as the web pages you visit, the links you click, and the searches you conduct on our Website. Most browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies. If you choose to decline cookies, please note that you may not be able to sign in or use some of the interactive features offered on our Website. View Your Privacy Choices here.
• Information obtained through other technologies. We may use standard internet technology, such as pixel tags, web beacons and other similar technologies, to track your use of our site. We also may include web beacons in promotional or other email messages or newsletters to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon. We also may receive an anonymous identification number if you come to our Website from an online advertisement displayed on a third-party website. The information we obtain in this manner enables us to customize the services we offer our Website visitors to deliver targeted advertisements and to measure the overall effectiveness of our online advertising, content, or other activities.
• Sensitive Information. You or other users may also provide us with information considered sensitive, such as race, ethnicity, and health information, by posting such information on our Website in connection with a gift or donation.  Subject to applicable law, we may use any information which has manifestly been made public, including processing information that reveals sensitive information. When you provide such information to us you consent to the processing of this data by Meal Train and/or its service providers.
• Information collected by third parties. We may allow third parties, including our authorized service providers, advertising companies, and ad networks, to display advertisements on the Website. These companies may use tracking technologies, such as cookies, to collect information about users who view or interact with their advertisements. Our Website does not provide any personally identifiable information to these third parties. This information allows them to deliver targeted advertisements and gauge their effectiveness. Some of these third-party advertising companies may be advertising networks that are members of the Network Advertising Initiative, which offers a single location to opt out of ad targeting from member companies (www.networkadvertising.org). We may use Google to serve advertisements on the Website. Use the following link to see how Google manages data in its ads products: (https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites). You may opt-out of non-essential cookies by using the Your Privacy Choices link or by clicking here.

• Information from other sources. We may also periodically obtain both personal and non-personal information (updated delivery and address information, purchase history, and additional demographic information) about you from business partners, contractors, and other third parties and add it to your account information or other information we have collected.
• Facebook.com: If you sign in via Facebook, we may obtain your name, basic user profile information, profile image, and your email address if you consent to share it.
• Google.com: If you sign in via Google, we may obtain your name, basic user profile information, profile image, and your email address if you consent to share it.
• Stripe.com: If you donate to a Meal Train page via the Meal Train Donation Feature, the payment is processed by Stripe, our payment partner. We may obtain your email address, IP address and postal code from Stripe, related to the payment transaction.
• Paypal.com: If you purchase a Meal Train product or service using PayPal, we may obtain your name, email, phone, and mailing address from PayPal as required to fulfill the obligations of that purchase.
• InComm/TheGiftCardShop.com: If you purchase a gift card from InComm, using a link found on MealTrain.com, we may obtain your name, email address, gift card brand you purchased, gift card amount, and any applicable gift message for addition to the Meal Train page in which you are participating.

Financial information

Meal Train does not directly collect payment information for transactions processed on our site. All payments are handled by our partners and use of these services requires your acceptance of their respective Terms of Service and Privacy Policies.

• Stripe, Inc.: www.stripe.com/privacy
• Paypal Holdings, Inc.: www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/ua/privacy-full
• InComm/TheGiftCardShop.com: www.incomm.com/policies/privacy-center
• Blackhawk/GiftCards.ca : blackhawknetwork.com/privacy-policy

How we use and share your information

We may use your information for any lawful business purpose, including: to provide the Services; to manage our business; to communicate with and respond to you; to process account registrations; to process orders; improve our Website, Services, and products; to develop and display content and advertising tailored to your interests; to conduct research; to inform you and your gift or donation recipients of offers and discounts; to enforce of Terms of Service and Privacy Policy; and to prevent fraud, theft, and misconduct. We may also use your personal information as indicated at the time of collection or with your consent (where required by applicable law).

In addition, Meal Train may use and share your information for the purposes set forth below:

1. With our Service Providers. We employ third-party companies and individuals to facilitate our Website and Services, including, but not limited to, by providing data storage, maintenance services, database management, web analytics, payment processing, email sending and compliance, Donation Fund management, improving the Website’s features, and assisting us in analyzing how the Service are used. These third parties have access to your information only for the purposes of performing these tasks on our behalf.
2. With Third Parties for Marketing Purposes. We may make information available to certain third parties including, but not limited to, data processors and/or other data controllers and those who share or rent information for direct marketing purposes, to enhance our advertising and promotional endeavors. This may include third parties that support or facilitate our marketing efforts and advertising campaigns, including those based on targeted advertising. You may opt out of our emails by clicking on the UNSUBSCRIBE button.
3. To Comply with the Law, to Protect Ourselves, and for other Legal Purposes. In certain situations, we may be required to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests from public authorities, including to comply with national security or law enforcement requirements. We reserve the right to disclose information we collect from you, or that you provide to us, as required by law, or in response to legal process and law enforcement requests, when we believe, in good faith, that disclosure is necessary protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, respond to a government legal request, comply with a government requirement, or protect the rights or property of Meal Train, its users, its customers, its recipients, and/or its business partners.
4. To Update our Records. We may use your information to match it with other public and private data sources (such as the U.S. Postal Services and publicly available consumer data warehouses) or the records of our business partners solely to enhance our records and keep them current (such as by updating your profile with a new address, interests, and the like). We also may work with other third parties who possess your information to enrich and update our records for purposes of our advertising or promotional endeavors. In addition, we may make such information, including aggregated information, available to selected third parties for other reasons that we may describe to you at the time of collection.
5. To Potential Investors and in Conjunction with a Change in Control Transaction. We may transfer your information in connection with the potential or actual sale, lease, license, assignment, acquisition, merger, divestiture, reorganization or change of control of Meal Train, or in the unlikely event of a bankruptcy proceeding (or otherwise, with respect to the foregoing, of part, or all, of our business).

You can choose not to provide us with certain information, but that may result in you being unable to use certain features of our Website.

Any third parties to whom we may disclose personal information may have their own privacy policies which describe how they use and disclose personal information. Those policies will govern use, handling and disclosure of your personal information once we have shared it with those third parties as described in this Privacy Policy. If you want to learn more about their privacy practices, we encourage you to visit the websites of those third parties.

How long we keep your information

We may retain your information in accordance with our data retention policies and for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you Services, comply with our legal obligations, and resolve disputes and enforce our agreements, as well as for any additional purpose based on the choices you have made, such as to receive marketing communications.

Aggregated, pseudonymous, and non-personal information

We may share aggregated, pseudonymous, and/or non-personal information we collect under any of the above circumstances. We may also share it with third parties to develop and deliver targeted advertising on our Website and on the websites of third parties. We may combine non-personally identifiable information we collect with additional non-personal information collected from other sources. We also may share aggregated information with third parties, including advisors, advertisers and investors, for the purpose of conducting general business analysis. This information does not contain any personally identifiable information and may be used to develop Website content and services that we hope you and other users will find of interest and to target content and advertising. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

Account changes/deletion and personal information removal

We want to communicate with you only to the extent you want to hear from us. Additionally, accurate information is important to all of us. Below is information on how you can update your information, change your communication preferences, and delete your account.

• Registered User Profile Changes (except for account closure) may be done at any time through the Website. Click on the "My Account" link and change the desired information.
• Email Communication Preferences: Both registered and non-registered users can manage their communication preferences by clicking on the link at the bottom of most Meal Train generated emails.
• Name Removal:
• Registered Users may delete your name from a Meal Train Participant list by logging into your account and proceeding to the "Dashboard" and selecting the "Remove Me" button. Once you are removed, you will no longer receive communication related to the Meal Train.). You must individually remove your name from each Meal Train page you do not wish to participate in.
• Unregistered Users may send an email to contact@mealtrain.com requesting removal from a specific Meal Train page. To ensure accuracy, please provide the email address to be removed and URL of the Meal Train page.
• Account Deletion/Personal Information Removal: You may choose to remove all personal information at any time by submitting a request via the Contact Us form or by emailing your request to contact@mealtrain.com. After you close your account, you will not be able to sign in to our Website, access any of your personal information, and all future events that you have created or scheduled will be canceled. You can open a new account at any time. If you close your account, we may still retain certain information associated with your account for record keeping integrity and system backups, as well as to prevent fraud, collect any fees owed, enforce our Terms of Service, located at https://www.mealtrain.com/terms/ (the “Terms of Service”), take actions we deem necessary to protect the integrity of our Website or our users, or take other actions otherwise permitted by law. We may keep deidentified and/or aggregated personal information for analytical purposes.

Security

Meal Train is committed to safeguarding your information. We employ reasonable measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access. However, no transmission of data over the Internet or any other network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Although we make reasonable efforts to safeguard personal information once we receive it, we cannot warrant the security of information we receive.

Portions of the Services may require registration and log-in processes in which you will select a password. Your password is confidential and may be used by you solely for you (and otherwise as necessary by us). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password and for all activities conducted using your password, whether or not authorized by you. You agree to immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your password or accounts. Please refer to the Federal Trade Commission’s website for information about how to protect yourself against identity theft.

Third-party websites

There may be places on the Website where you may click on a link to access other websites that do not operate under this Privacy Policy. We are in no way responsible for these third-party websites, even though we may link to them. We recommend that you consult the privacy statements of all third-party websites you visit by clicking on the "privacy" link typically located at the bottom of the webpage you are visiting.

Children's privacy

Our Services are for a general audience and are not directed to or intended for children under the age of 16. Accordingly, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16 and if we become aware that we have, we will promptly delete such information from our servers. If you are a parent or guardian of a child and become aware that your child has provided personal information to us, please contact us as described in this Privacy Policy.

Visiting our website from outside the United States

If you are accessing our Service from outside the United States, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our central database is operated. This Policy and the storage, use and disclosure of your information under this Policy, is governed by the laws on the United States. The Services are controlled and operated by Meal Train LLC from the United States and you expressly waive the application of any laws of any territory other than the United States. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using our Services, you understand and agree that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Policy, and the laws of the United States apply to the use, storage and disclosure of your information.

Your rights and choices regarding your information

Your rights. Depending on your location or state of residence, you may have the statutory right to request the following with regard to your information:

• Access to, or a copy of, your information
• Confirmation that we are processing your information
• Correction or amendment of your information
• Deletion of your information
• Transfer of your information to a third party, where technically feasible
• Restriction or objection to certain uses of your information

Depending on your location or state of residence, you may also have the right to opt out of "sales" of your information and "sharing/use of your information for targeted advertising" as described below. As provided in applicable law, you also have the right to not be discriminated against for exercising your rights. You may also withdraw a previously given consent for processing your personal information; the withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of the processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

Please note that under applicable law, certain information may be exempt from the requests above. For example, we may not be able to alter or delete certain information if we are required to retain it to fulfill our obligations to you, for security reasons, to comply with applicable law, for internal business purposes, or for other valid legal reasons.

We need to verify your identity before responding to a request, which will include confirming your email address. If we are unable to verify your identity, we may not be able to process your request. If you designate an authorized agent to submit requests on your behalf pursuant to applicable law, in order for us to verify the authorized agent, you must provide the authorized agent with signed, written permission to make such requests or a power of attorney. We may follow up with you to verify your identity before processing the authorized agent’s request.

For further information regarding your legal rights or to exercise any of them, please email us at contact@mealtrain.com and explain the type of request you want to make and the information about which you are making the request. You may also be able to exercise certain choices – like updating your information – through your account.

Depending on applicable law, you may have the right to appeal our decision to deny your request, if applicable. In such situations, if we deny your request, we will provide you with information on how to appeal the decision.

Sales/Targeted Advertising Opt Out. As explained above, we disclose certain information to business partners and advertisers, including for online targeted advertising and related advertising analytics activities. These disclosures may be considered a "sale" or the processing/sharing of personal information for targeted advertising purposes under applicable law. If you would like to opt out of our use of cookies, pixels and similar technologies for purposes that could be considered "sales" or "sharing" for purposes of targeted advertising, please click here.

If you visit MealTrain.com using an active web browser-based opt out preference signal such as the “Global Privacy Control,” we recognize such preference in accordance with applicable law. You will need to activate the signal for each browser you use, if not signed in.

Marketing emails. If you no longer want to receive commercial or promotional emails or newsletters from us, click the "Unsubscribe" link in the email you received. You can also email us your request at contact@mealtrain.com. We may send you other types of transactional and relationship email communications, such as service announcements, administrative notices, and surveys even if you opt out.

Do Not Track. The "Do Not Track" ("DNT") privacy preference is an option that may be made in some web browsers. The Services currently do not respond to DNT signals. Please note that DNT is a different mechanism than the browser-based opt out preference signals referenced above.

Additional Privacy Disclosures for California Residents

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, requires us to provide you with additional information about: (1) the purpose for which we use each category of "personal information" (as defined in the CCPA) we collect; and (2) the categories of third parties to which we (a) disclose personal information for a business purpose, (b) "share" personal information for "cross-context behavioral advertising", and/or (c) "sell" personal information.

The CCPA defines "sharing" as the targeting of advertising to a consumer based on that consumer's personal information obtained from the consumer's activity across websites, and "selling" is defined as the disclosure of personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary or other valuable consideration. We "share" information to provide more relevant and tailored advertising to you regarding our Services. Our use of third-party advertising and related services, including online advertising services, and our disclosures of information to our business partners, may result in the sharing of information including online identifiers (e.g., cookie data, IP addresses, device identifiers, and usage information) in a way that may be considered a "sale" under the CCPA. The following chart details our practices in this regard. For all categories of third parties to which we disclose personal information for a business purpose, please see the "How we use and share your information" section of the Policy above.

Meal Train does not sell or share email addresses or other personal information in exchange for money – rather, our use of web analytics and advertising networks constitute “selling” or “sharing” as defined by law.

For more information about each category, purpose of use, and the third parties to which we disclose or sell/share information, please see the sections above titled "Information we collect" and "How we use and share your information".

Your Rights. For information about your rights regarding your information, please see the section above titled “Your rights and choices regarding your information.” You also have the right to opt out of “sharing” and “selling” of your personal information as defined under the CCPA. To opt out of our use of cookies, pixels and similar technologies for purposes that could be considered “sales” or “sharing” for purposes of targeted advertising, please click here.

The CCPA also allows you to limit the use or disclosure of your “sensitive personal information” (as defined in the CCPA) if such information is used for certain purposes. We do not use or disclose sensitive personal information other than for business purposes for which you cannot opt out under the CCPA.

Changes to this privacy policy

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices and services. When we post changes to this Privacy Policy, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes in the way we collect, use, and/or share your personal information, we will notify you by prominently posting notice of the changes on our Website. We recommend that you check our Website from time to time to inform yourself of any changes in this Privacy Policy or any of our other policies.

Notice and procedure for making claims of copyright infringement

If you have a claim of copyright infringement, you must send written notification to the following Designated Agent:

Meal Train LLC,
50 Lakeside Avenue, Box 80
Burlington, VT 05401
contact@mealtrain.com

To be effective, the notification must include the following:

• A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
• Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
• Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
• A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.