Privacy Policy

Who we are

Neighbor Plates! (“we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Michigan nonprofit organization that operates neighborplates.org, a community platform where neighbors share homemade and surplus food with one another. Questions about this policy can be sent to neighborplates@gmail.com.

Information we collect

We collect only what we need to connect neighbors around food:

• Contact information: your name and mobile phone number, provided when you post food, reserve food, or submit a food request. An account is optional; if you create one, we also store your email address.
• Location information: the pickup address you provide for a food listing, and the zip code you provide in a food request. We convert addresses to map coordinates to show listings to nearby neighbors.
• Listing details: descriptions of food you post, portions, dietary tags, and availability windows.
• SMS messages: the text messages you exchange with our service (such as CONFIRM, DECLINE, READY, DONE, YES, or STOP) so we can coordinate pickups.
• Basic usage data: which pages on our site are visited. We do not use third-party advertising trackers or analytics services.

SMS / text messaging

Neighbor Plates! coordinates food pickups by text message. By providing your phone number, you consent to receive transactional SMS messages from us related to your listings, reservations, and food requests. Message frequency varies with your activity. Message and data rates may apply.

• Reply STOP at any time to opt out of all messages.
• We never send marketing or promotional texts — only messages needed to coordinate a food exchange you initiated.
• Your phone number is never shared with other users. All communication is relayed through our platform number so neighbors can coordinate without exchanging personal contact information.
• SMS opt-in and phone numbers are never shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.

How we use your information

• To show your food listing to neighbors nearby
• To send SMS messages coordinating reservations and pickups
• To notify food requesters when matching food is posted in their area
• To moderate the platform and keep the community safe
• To understand overall site usage so we can improve the service

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We do not use your information for advertising.

What other users see

• Your first name and listing details are visible to people browsing the site.
• The pickup address for a listing is shared with a neighbor only after the poster confirms their reservation.
• Phone numbers are never shown to other users.

Service providers

We rely on a small number of vendors to operate the platform. They process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes:

• Supabase — database and authentication hosting
• Twilio — SMS delivery
• Google Maps — address lookup and geocoding
• Render — website hosting
• Cloudflare — network and DNS services

Data retention and deletion

We keep listing, reservation, and request records as long as needed to operate the service and meet legal obligations. You may request deletion of your personal information at any time by emailing neighborplates@gmail.com. We will delete it within 30 days unless we are required to retain it.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit, stored with access controls, and accessible only to platform administrators. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.

Age requirement

Neighbor Plates! is for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to use the service. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18; if we learn we have, we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will update the date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify active users. Continued use of the service after changes means you accept the updated policy.