The Food Trust Terms of Use
Updated June 20, 2025
Please read the following carefully. This is a legally binding agreement between you AS AN END USER (AS DEFINED BELOW) (“END USER” or “You”) and THE FOOD TRUST (“TFT” or “WE”). This Terms of USE agreement, together with all TFT rules and policies (IF AND AS APPLICABLE) constitute the “Agreement” between you and TFT REGARDING YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF TFT’s website available at https://thefoodtrust.org/, including ALL SUBDOMAINS included therein, and tft’s OTHER sites, including, without limitation, the Nutrition Navigator, the Online Learning Hub, the Healthy Food Access Portal, COOKING MATTERS, and the Pennsylvania Farm to School Network (the “Sites”), as well as products or services accessible through the Sites (collectively, the “Services” and the sites and the services are, collectively, the “platform”). By accessing or using the Platform, you signify that you have read the Agreement and that you understand and agree to be bound by the Agreement.
THIS AGREEMENT COVERS IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT FUTURE CHANGES TO THE AGREEMENT, LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY, INDEMNIFICATION, RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES THROUGH ARBITRATION, AND A WAIVER OF RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL AND TO CLAIMS BROUGHT BY CLASS ACTION.
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE AGREEMENT, DO NOT UNDERSTAND OR AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE AGREEMENT, OR ARE NOT ABLE TO CONSENT TO BE BOUND BY THE AGREEMENT, DO NOT USE OUR PLATFORM.
1. Scope, Acceptance, and Privacy
Anyone who accesses or uses our Platform is an “End User.” The Agreement sets forth your rights and obligations as an End User with respect to your access to and use of the Platform and use of any and all information or data of any kind arising from access to, or use of, the Platform, including, without limitation, any text, graphics, images, artwork, sound recordings, audio, video, and software.
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to change this Agreement from time to time, without prior notice. You are responsible for reviewing the Agreement regularly. Your access to any part of the Platform is deemed to be your acceptance of this Agreement, and any changes thereto.
If you are accessing or using any part of the Platform on behalf of any business, organization, or other entity of any kind, you represent and warrant that you are authorized (a) to accept these terms on its behalf and (b) to bind such business, organization, or entity to the Agreement.
Please refer to our Privacy Policy for information on how we collect, use and disclose personally identifiable information from End Users. The Platform is not directed toward children under 13 years of age nor does TFT knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please do not submit any personally identifiable information to TFT.
2. Operation
The specific features and functionality of the Platform are dynamic and may change from time to time. We reserve complete discretion with respect to the operation of the Platform. We also reserve the right to withdraw, suspend, or discontinue any functionality or feature of the Platform at any time.
3. Inaccuracies
We make great efforts to provide accurate information on the Platform. However, we disclaim—and you release us from any liability regarding—errors, inaccuracies, and omissions of the Platform. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update information at any time without prior notice. TFT makes no guarantees whatsoever as to the completeness, timeliness, correctness, or accuracy of the materials or data available through the Platform. If you believe any portion of the Platform includes an error or inaccuracy, please notify us.
4. Permitted Use
Certain TFT materials provided through the Platform are protected by intellectual property laws, including but not limited to U.S. copyright laws. You expressly acknowledge and agree that the content accessible through the Platform, unless otherwise stated on the Platform, is the property of TFT and its content providers, and TFT and its content providers retain all right, title, and interest in the content.
Subject to the terms of this Agreement and unless otherwise authorized by TFT, you are granted a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, non-assignable, non-transferable, and revocable license to access and use the Platform and related materials solely for your own non-commercial use. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, all rights are reserved. Nothing contained in this Agreement or on the Platform shall be construed as conferring by implication, estoppel or otherwise any license or right under any intellectual property of TFT or any third party.
To obtain certain services on the Platform, you may be required to register or create an account with us. Children under the age of 13 may not register to use the Platform without parental permission. You agree that the information you supply during that registration process will be accurate and complete and that you will not register under the name of, nor attempt to use the Platform under the name of, another person. We will use any information you provide to us through the registration process or otherwise in connection with your use of the Platform in accordance with our Privacy Policy and any specific notices or terms provided where we collect such information (if and as applicable). If and where applicable, we reserve the right to reject or terminate any user name that, in our judgment, we deem offensive. The Platform may include discussion forums, user generated content or other interactive areas or services, including message boards, online hosting or storage services, or other areas or services in which you or other End Users create, post or store any content, messages, materials, data, information, text, music, sound, photos, video, graphics, code or other items or materials on the Platform. Except as expressly permitted by the Agreement, in connection with the use of the Platform, you may not:
(a) alter or modify the Platform, or make any electronic reproduction, adaptation, distribution, performance, or display of the Platform, or any portion thereof, except to the extent required for the limited purpose of reviewing material on the Platform or as expressly authorized in connection with any content made available on the Platform where such content is made available; or
(b) sell, rent, lease, transfer, distribute, broadcast, display, provide, or otherwise assign to any third party any rights to the Platform or related materials, except as expressly authorized in connection with any content made available on the Platform where such content is made available; or
(c) remove or modify any proprietary notice or labels on the Platform, or related materials, including author attribution and copyright notices; or
(d) use any of our trade names, trademarks, logos, branding, or other source identifiers, including as meta-tags, without our separate written permission; or
(e) use the Platform for any non-authorized purpose or any illegal purpose; or
(f) copy, modify, erase, or damage any information contained on computer servers used or controlled by TFT or any third party; or
(g) use the Platform to violate any legal right of any third party, including any publicity or privacy right, copyright, or other intellectual property right, or to take any action that is harassing, libelous, defamatory, abusive, tortious, threatening, harmful, or otherwise objectionable; or
(h) access or use any password-protected, secure, or non-public areas of the Platform, or access data on the Platform not intended for you, except as specifically authorized by TFT; or
(i) impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or
(j) use any automated means to access or use the Platform, including scripts, bots, scrapers, data miners, or similar software, or display the Platform, or portions thereof, in things (e.g., framing, scraping, etc.), or submit any content from the Platform to any artificial intelligence, large language model, or machine learning technology, without our express written permission; or
(k) attempt to or actually disrupt, impair, or interfere with the Platform, or any information, data, or materials posted and/or displayed by TFT; or
(l) publish or distribute promotions, junk mail, spam, advertising, or solicitations; or
(m) attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of the Platform or breach any implemented security or authentication measures, regardless of your motives or intent; or
(n) attempt to interfere with or disrupt access to or use of the Platform by any user, processor, host, or network, including, without limitation, by submitting a virus, worm, Trojan horse, or other malicious code; or
(o) post any content to the Platform that: (i) includes any profane, obscene, defamatory, discriminatory, threatening, menacing, harassing, or violent content; (ii) depicts or suggests nudity or sexual acts; (iii) promotes hatred, including against members of a protected group under federal, state, or local law (such as, for example, a group defined by race, gender, or national origin); (iv) is objectively shocking or disgusting; (v) depicts or suggests presently occurring illegal activity, including, e.g., illicit drug use or underage drinking; (vi) includes unlicensed proprietary content of a third party, including, e.g., third-party content protected by copyright or trademark for which you do not have a license; (vii) breaches any duty of confidentiality you may have to a third party (e.g., discloses private information about a third party without consent); (viii) in our sole judgment, may endanger or otherwise affect our tax exempt status, including, e.g., content on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office; or is contrary to the Agreement, including TFT’s rules and policies.
As a provider of interactive services, TFT is not liable for any statements, representations or End User content provided by its End Users in any public forum, personal home page or other interactive area. Although we have no obligation to screen, edit or monitor such End User content posted in any interactive area, we reserve the right, and have absolute discretion, to remove, screen or edit any End User content posted or stored on the Platform at any time and for any reason without notice, and you are solely responsible for creating backup copies of and replacing any End User content you post or store on the Platform at your sole cost and expense. Any use of the interactive areas or other portions of the Platform in violation of the foregoing violates the Agreement and may result in, among other things, termination or suspension of your rights to use the Platform.
5. Third Party Properties Referred to on the Platform
Our Platform may refer to physical venues, geographical sites, websites on the Internet, and/or products or services that are not under the control of or maintained by TFT (“Third Party Properties”). Unless expressly stated to the contrary, such references do not constitute an affiliation with or endorsement by TFT of any such Third Party Properties. You acknowledge that TFT is providing any references to such Third Party Properties to you solely as a convenience to you, and you agree that TFT is not responsible for any injury, harm, damages, or negative experience you may encounter by accessing, visiting, or using such Third Party Properties. TFT does not endorse or make any representations about any Third Party Properties. If you access, visit, or use any Third Party Properties referred to on our Platform, you do so at your own risk.
6. Availability of the Platform
It is not possible to operate our Platform with 100% guaranteed uptime. TFT will make reasonable efforts to keep our Platform operational. However, certain technical difficulties, routine site maintenance and upgrades, and other events may, from time to time, result in interruptions to or outages of our Platform. You agree that TFT shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any direct or indirect consequence of any modification, suspension, discontinuance of, or interruption to our Platform.
7. Disclaimers
The information contained on THE PLATFORM and the resources available for download through thE PLATFORM are for educational and informational purposes only. NOTHING ON THE PLATFORM is intended to convey health or medical advice and NOTHING ON THE PLATFORM IS a substitute for health or medical advice from a professional. By using THE PLATFORM AND THE Resources AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD THROUGH THE PLATFORM, you acknowledge and accept responsibility for any and all risks that may be inherent in activities involving food prepARATION, hands-on cooking, or food-related activities, including AS related to dietary allergies OR INTOLERANCES OR THE RISK OF FOOD-BORNE PATHOGENS. You agree, for yourself and on behalf of any participants to whom you share these Resources, to waive and release TFT, its partners, sponsors, and each of their officers, directors, agents, employees, and volunteers from and against any and all liability for any and all claims, demands, actions, causes of action of whatever kind or nature, costs and expenses that may result from your use of the Resources.
THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT, TFT DOES NOT MAKE, AND HEREBY DISCLAIMS, ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, INCLUDING EXPRESS, IMPLIED, AND STATUTORY WARRANTIES, REGARDING (A) THE PLATFORM; AND (B) ANY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH THE PLATFORM, INCLUDING (WITHOUT LIMITATION) IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, AND ANY WARRANTIES ARISING BY COURSE OF DEALING OR CUSTOM OF TRADE.
TFT MAKES NO REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT ANY MATERIAL OR CONTENT DISPLAYED ON OR OFFERED THROUGH THE PLATFORM IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, APPROPRIATE, RELIABLE, OR TIMELY. TFT ALSO MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES THAT THE PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, FREE OF VIRUSES, MALICIOUS CODE, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR OTHERWISE WILL BE SECURE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
8. Limitation of Liability and Release
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, in no event shall TFT or any of its affiliates or suppliers (including any of its or their partners, officers, employees, agents, contractors, successors, or assignees) be liable to you (including any of your partners, officers, employees, agents, contractors, successors, or assignees) for any DIRECT, indirect, special, incidental, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, whether arising in contract, equity, intended conduct, tort, or otherwise (including breach of warranty, negligence, and strict liability in tort), NOR FOR ANY damages arising from delay, loss of goodwill, loss of or damage to data, interruption in use or availability of data, loss of use of money or use of products, lost profits, revenue or savings (actual or anticipated), or other economic loss ensuing from or in connectiON with the existence, access to, use of, or inability to use the Platform or relating to any materials, information, qualification, or recommendations on the Platform, even if TFT or any of its affiliates or suppliers has been advised of the possibility of such damages. These limitations shall apply notwithstanding the failure of the essential purpose of any limited remedy.
YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE AND RELEASE ANY AND ALL RIGHTS AND BENEFITS UNDER SECTION 1542 OF THE CIVIL CODE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA (OR ANY ANALOGOUS LAW OF ANY OTHER STATE), WHICH READS AS FOLLOWS: “A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY.”
Despite the foregoing limitation of liability for damages, if a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction decides to award monetary damages to you for any claim or cause of action arising from the same, the amount of monetary damages for such claim or cause of action shall not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars ($100).
9. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless TFT, its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, and its and their respective directors, officers, partners, employees, agents, contractors, successors, and assigns from and against all claims, demands, lawsuits, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, or expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel and court costs), judgments, settlements, and penalties of every kind arising from or relating to any violation of this agreement and any activity related to your use of the Platform OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE PLATFORM.
10. Termination
You agree that TFT may, to the extent feasible, in its sole discretion, and without prior notice, terminate your access to or use of any portion of our Platform at any time and for any reason, with or without cause. You also agree that any violation by you of the Agreement will constitute an unlawful and unfair business practice that will cause irreparable harm to TFT for which monetary damages would be inadequate. You consent to TFT’s obtaining any injunctive or equitable relief that TFT deems necessary or appropriate in such circumstances, without the need for a bond. These remedies are in addition to any other remedies TFT may have at law or in equity.
11. Intellectual Property Infringement Complaints
If you believe a work protected by a U.S. copyright you own has been posted on the Platform without authorization, you may notify our copyright agent, and provide the following information:
(a) a physical or electronic signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;
(b) identification of the copyrighted work or works claimed to have been infringed;
(c) a detailed description of the material you claim is infringing, together with information sufficient to enable us to locate it, including the URL or other description of where the infringing material appears;
(d) your name, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
(e) a statement by you that you believe in good faith that the copyrighted material identified is being used in a manner that is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
(f) a statement by you that the above information is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright allegedly infringed.
To notify TFT of a claimed copyright infringement, please contact:
The Food Trust
One Penn Center, Suite 900
1617 John F. Kennedy Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA 19103
215-575-0444
12. General
12.1 Modifications
At any time and in TFT’s sole discretion, we may add, delete, or modify the Agreement. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to publish any revised portion of the Agreement, for example, by publishing the latest version of these terms and conditions at this URL. Should you deem any such addition, deletion, or modification to the Agreement unacceptable, you shall stop accessing and using the Platform. All changes to the Agreement shall be effective immediately.
12.2 Access and Use Where Prohibited
Access to and use of our Platform are unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give effect to all provisions of the Agreement, including without limitation this provision.
12.1 Operation of the Platform from the United States of America
By accessing and using the Platform, you acknowledge and agree that TFT controls and operates all parts of the Platform from the United States of America and that the Platform, and the information contained on the Platform, is intended for use by End Users located in the United States of America. Other countries may have laws and regulatory requirements that differ from those in the United State of America. Unless expressly stated to the contrary, TFT makes no representation that the Platform, or the information contained on the Platform, is appropriate or will be available for use in other locations. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, all material and content found on or accessible through the Platform are solely directed to individuals, companies, or other entities located in the United States of America. TFT reserves the right to limit, in its sole discretion, the provision and quantity of any feature, product, or service to any person or geographic area. Any offer for any feature, product, or service made on or through the Platform is void where prohibited. If you access or use the Platform from outside the United States of America, you are entirely responsible for compliance with applicable local laws and other applicable laws. You may not use any portion of the Platform in violation of applicable export laws and regulations.
If you access the Platform from outside the United States, you acknowledge and agree that your information may be transferred to and maintained on computers and servers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. Your consent to the Agreement followed by your submission of such information represents your agreement to the transfer of such information to the United States and the collection, use, and disclosure of your information in accordance with United States law and our Privacy Policy.
12.2 Applicable Law
The interpretation of this Agreement will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, without regard to choice or conflicts of law principles.
12.3 Dispute Resolution
In the event of a dispute relating to your access to and use of the Platform or this Agreement, you and TFT agree to seek an amicable agreement and to communicate with each other all necessary information to this end.
(a) Internal Dispute Resolution and Mediation. If any dispute or claim arises between the you and TFT in connection with this Agreement, you and TFT agree to discuss and seek to resolve such dispute or claim in good faith through internal dispute resolution. If you and TFT are unsuccessful in resolving any such dispute or claim, either party may seek to submit the dispute or claim to arbitration by sending notice of the same to the other party.
(b) Arbitration. If the parties’ good-faith attempts to resolve a dispute or claim by internal dispute resolution, such dispute or claim shall be resolved through final, binding arbitration under the substantive and procedural requirements of the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitration shall be conducted by a single, neutral arbitrator chosen by the parties, and conducted in a location mutually agreed to by the parties or, if the parties cannot agree, chosen by the arbitrator. The arbitration shall be conducted under the Commercial Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association. Should any party refuse or neglect to choose an arbitrator or otherwise sincerely and in good faith participate in the arbitration process, then the arbitrator is empowered to proceed with one side alone. The parties agree that the arbitrator, and not a court, shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the interpretation, validity, and scope of this arbitration agreement. Except as expressly provided otherwise below, no party shall file or maintain any lawsuit in any court against the other, and the parties agree that any suit filed in violation of this arbitration agreement shall be dismissed by the court in favor of an arbitration conducted pursuant to this agreement. Each party shall bear its own expenses and the parties shall equally share the arbitration filing fee, arbitrator’s compensation, facilities fees, and other administrative fees. However, if the claim or defense of any party is upheld by the arbitrator in all material respects, then the prevailing party shall be promptly reimbursed by the other party for its reasonable attorneys’ fees and disbursements, the reasonable costs of its experts and witnesses, and all other fees, costs and expenses of the arbitration. Any award of the arbitrator shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the award. Any remedy available from a court under the law shall be available in the arbitration. Judgment upon an award may be entered in any court having competent jurisdiction. Any judgment therein may be enforced in any court having jurisdiction. The parties, their representatives and participants and the arbitrator shall hold the existence, content and result of the arbitration in confidence, except to the limited extent necessary to enforce a final settlement agreement or to obtain or enforce a judgment on an arbitration decision and award. If any provision of this arbitration agreement is adjudged to be void or otherwise unenforceable, in whole or in part, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the remainder of the agreement. If this arbitration agreement is declared unenforceable and cannot be administered, interpreted, or modified to be enforceable, the parties agree any such dispute shall be commenced and maintained exclusively in the state or federal courts located in or with jurisdiction over Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the parties each consent to the personal jurisdiction of said courts.
(c) JURY TRIAL AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. THE PARTIES UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGE, AND AGREE THAT WITH RESPECT TO ANY DISPUTE BETWEEN OR AMONG THEM THAT THEY WAIVE AND GIVE UP THEIR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND, IF APPLICABLE, ANY RIGHTS THEY MAY HAVE TO BRING ANY CLAIMS ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, CONSOLIDATED, COLLECTIVE, OR MASS ACTION BASIS.
(d) Equitable Remedies and Immediate Relief. It is specifically agreed that a breach of the provisions of this Agreement concerning the use and/or non-disclosure of proprietary or confidential information may result in irreparable injury for which there is no adequate remedy at law. Accordingly, and without prejudice to a party’s remedies available at law, a party who claims such a breach will be entitled to seek specific performance, injunctive relief, or other equitable remedies without proof of actual damages or the posting of a bond. Nothing herein shall prevent any party from seeking immediate injunctive relief pursuant to the Emergency Measures of Protection procedures in the AAA Commercial Rules if, in its judgment, such relief is necessary to protect its interests prior to utilizing or completing this dispute resolution process. Such remedy shall be in addition to all other remedies, including money damages, available to such party at law or in equity.
12.4 Unsolicited Materials and End User’s Grant of Limited Licensed
In operating our Platform, TFT does not solicit nor does it wish to receive any confidential, secret or proprietary information or other material from you through the Platform, our mail and e-mail addresses, or in any other way. Any information or material submitted or sent to TFT (including, but not limited to, comments, questions, feedback, data, suggestions, ideas and the like) will be deemed to be not confidential or secret. By submitting or sending information or other material to TFT, you represent and warrant that the information is original to you and that no other party has any rights to the material.
By communicating with TFT, including submitting or sending content to us, you grant TFT the royalty-free, unrestricted, world-wide, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such content (in whole or part), including any information, suggestions, ideas, drawings or concepts contained in such content, worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. Such license includes incorporating the content, in whole or in part, into a TFT feature. You will remain responsible for the accuracy, copyright compliance, legality, decency, or any other aspect of such submitted material, including any content or part thereof, or other communication to TFT. You also warrant that any “moral rights” in such content are waived.
12.5 Miscellaneous
If any part of the Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable law including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and liability limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in effect.
No failure or delay in enforcing any provision, exercising any option, or requiring performance, shall be construed to be a waiver of that or any other right in connection with the Agreement.
If TFT does take any legal action against you as a result of your violation of the Agreement, TFT will be entitled to recover from you, and you agree to pay, all reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of such action, in addition to any other relief granted to TFT. You agree that TFT will not be liable to you or to any third party for termination of your access to, or use of, any of our Platform as a result of any violation of the Agreement or for any reason at all.
You may not assign, by operation of law or otherwise, any rights or delegate any duties under the Agreement to any third party without prior written consent by TFT. Any purported assignment lacking such consent will be void at its inception. TFT may assign all or part of its rights and/or delegate all or part of its duties under the Agreement to any party, at any time, and in its sole discretion, upon notice of assignment by posting such notice on our Platform.