Privacy Policy

1. Scope

This Privacy Policy applies to localharvestfarmersmarkets.org and to the directory and application pages operated by Local Harvest Farmers Markets. We are not an online store, do not sell products or services through this website, do not process payments, and do not store card numbers.

2. Information we collect

We may receive:

• Contact and business information: name, business name, email address, phone number, website, social handles, category, products, and selected markets.
• Information you submit: biography, descriptions, declaration responses, typed signature, how you found us, and photographs or logos you upload.
• Technical information: IP address, submission date and time, browser or device information, and server log data the hosting environment needs to operate and protect the website. An IP address may also be used to limit automated or abusive submissions.

We do not request card information, bank-account information, or permit or insurance documents in the vendor application.

3. How we use information

We use information to review applications, contact you, send email confirmations, administer the directory, publish approved profiles, answer questions, prevent spam and abuse, secure the website, translate Spanish applications for internal review, and comply with legal obligations.

Submitting an application does not guarantee a market space. Applications remain pending until market staff review them.

4. Translation of Spanish applications

If you submit an application in Spanish, the free-text content you write may be sent to OpenAI for English translation for internal review and the administrator notification. Names, business names, product names, URLs, and fixed selections are preserved. The confirmation sent to the applicant remains in Spanish. See OpenAI’s Privacy Policy.

5. What may be public

Only approved applications may become public profiles. Market staff may publish the business name, biography, category, markets, website, image, and applicable social links. Email is private by default and is shown only if an administrator expressly enables it. IP addresses, signatures, private responses, review notes, and original translation text are not published.

6. Who we share information with

We share information only as needed to operate the website: with administrators and the WordPress hosting environment, with email providers to send confirmations and notices, and with OpenAI for the internal translation described above. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect the website, or to respond to a legal or security emergency.

The website includes links to Instagram, Facebook, and Google Maps. When you follow a link, the external provider may receive information about your visit under its own policies.

7. Sales, advertising, and cookies

We do not sell personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. This website has no checkout and does not process purchases. The directory plugin does not add advertising or analytics cookies; WordPress, hosting, the theme, or other website components may use cookies or technical logs needed for security, sessions, or basic functions.

8. Retention and security

We retain applications, approved profiles, messages, and logs for as long as reasonably needed to review applications, maintain the directory, send communications, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations, and protect the website. We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards, but no internet system can guarantee absolute security.

9. Your choices and rights

If you are a California resident and applicable law gives you privacy rights, you may request to know, access, correct, or delete personal information, and you may request that it not be sold or shared. We do not sell or share personal information for behavioral advertising. To request access, correction, or deletion, email admin@localharvestfarmersmarkets.org with the subject “Privacy Request.” We may ask for reasonable information to verify a request and will respond as permitted by law.

10. Children and changes

This website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. We may update this policy when the website, our practices, or the law changes. We will post the updated version here and change the update date.