Terms of Service
EFI Terms of Service
Welcome, and thank you for your interest in Equitable Food Initiative (“EFI,” “we,” or “us”) and our website at https://equitablefood.org/, along with our related websites, networks, applications, mobile applications, and other services provided by us (collectively, the “Site”). These Terms of Service are a legally binding contract between you and EFI regarding your use of the Site.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS CAREFULLY.
BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SITE, YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD, AND, AS A CONDITION TO YOUR USE OF THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY, THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS (TOGETHER, THESE “TERMS”). IF YOU ARE NOT ELIGIBLE, OR DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, THEN YOU DO NOT HAVE OUR PERMISSION TO USE THE SITE. YOUR USE OF THE SITE, AND EFI’S PROVISION OF THE SITE TO YOU, CONSTITUTES AN AGREEMENT BY EFI AND BY YOU TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS.
ARBITRATION NOTICE. Except as otherwise set forth in Section 13.3, You agree that disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration, and BY ACCEPTING THESE TERMS, YOU AND EFI ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS ACTION OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU AGREE TO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend your rights under this contract (except for matters that may be taken to small claims court). Your rights will be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR and NOT a judge or jury. (See Section 13.)
1. EFI Site Overview. The Site provides users with general information about EFI and access to grower resources and tools.
2. Eligibility. You must be at least 18 years old to use the Site. By agreeing to these Terms, you represent and warrant to us that: (a) you are at least 18 years old; (b) you have not previously been suspended or removed from the Site; and (c) your registration for any of our events and your use of the Site is in compliance with any and all applicable laws and regulations. If you are an entity, organization, or company, the individual accepting these Terms on your behalf represents and warrants that they have authority to bind you to these Terms and you agree to be bound by these Terms.
3. Accounts and Registration. To access some of our tools and resources, you must register for an account. When you register for an account, you may be required to provide us with some information about yourself, such as your name, email address, or other contact information. You agree that the information you provide to us is accurate and that you will keep it accurate and up-to-date at all times. When you register, you will be asked to provide a password. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password, and you accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account. If you believe that your account is no longer secure, then you must immediately notify us at info@equitablefood.org.
4. Licenses
4.1 Limited License. Subject to your complete and ongoing compliance with these Terms, EFI grants you, solely for your personal, non-commercial use, a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Site.
4.2 License Restrictions. Except and solely to the extent such a restriction is impermissible under applicable law, you may not: (a) reproduce, distribute, publicly display, or publicly perform the Site; (b) make modifications to the Site; or (c) interfere with or circumvent any feature of the Site, including any security or access control mechanism. If you are prohibited under applicable law from using the Site, you may not use it.
4.3 Feedback. If you choose to provide input and suggestions regarding problems with or proposed modifications or improvements to the Site (“Feedback”), then you hereby grant EFI an unrestricted, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, fully-paid, royalty-free right to exploit the Feedback in any manner and for any purpose, including to improve the Site and create other products and Sites.
5. Ownership; Proprietary Rights. The Site is owned and operated by EFI. The visual interfaces, graphics, design, compilation, information, data, computer code (including source code or object code), products, software, Site, and all other elements of the Site (“Materials”) provided by EFI are protected by intellectual property and other laws. All Materials included in the Site are the property of EFI or its third party licensors. Except as expressly authorized by EFI, you may not make use of the Materials. EFI reserves all rights to the Materials not granted expressly in these Terms.
6. Third Party Terms
6.1 Third Party Services and Linked Websites. EFI may provide tools through the Site that enable you to export information to third party services, including mobile applications. By using one of these tools, you agree that EFI may transfer that information to the applicable third party service. Third party services are not under EFI’s control, and, to the fullest extent permitted by law, EFI is not responsible for any third party service’s use of your exported information. The Site may also contain links to third party websites or third party services. Linked websites and third party services are not under EFI’s control, and EFI is not responsible or liable for their content, or your use thereof, or any terms or conditions relating thereto.
6.2 Third Party Software. The Site may also include or incorporate third party software components that are generally available free of charge under licenses granting recipients broad rights to copy, modify, and distribute those components (“Third Party Components”). Although the Site is provided to you subject to these Terms, nothing in these Terms prevents, restricts, or is intended to prevent or restrict you from obtaining Third Party Components under the applicable third party licenses or to limit your use of Third Party Components under those third party licenses.
7. Prohibited Conduct. BY USING THE SITE YOU AGREE NOT TO:
a) use the Site for any illegal purpose or in violation of any local, state, national, or international law;
b) violate, or encourage others to violate, any right of a third party, including by infringing or misappropriating any third party intellectual property right;
c) interfere with security-related features of the Site, including by: (i) disabling or circumventing features that prevent or limit use or copying of any content; or (ii) reverse engineering or otherwise attempting to discover the source code of any portion of the Site except to the extent that the activity is expressly permitted by applicable law;
d) interfere with the operation of the Site or any user’s enjoyment of the Site, including by: (i) uploading or otherwise disseminating any virus, adware, spyware, worm, or other malicious code; (ii) making any unsolicited offer or advertisement to another user of the Site; (iii) collecting personal information about another user or third party without consent; or (iv) interfering with or disrupting any network, equipment, or server connected to or used to provide the Site;
e) perform any fraudulent activity including impersonating any person or entity, claiming a false affiliation, or accessing any other Site account without permission;
f) sell or otherwise transfer the access granted under these Terms or any Materials or any right or ability to view, access, or use any Materials; or
g) attempt to do any of the acts described in this Section 7 or assist or permit any person to engage in any of the acts described in this Section 7.
8. Modification of these Terms. We reserve the right to change these Terms on a going-forward basis at any time. Please check these Terms periodically for changes. If a change to these Terms materially modifies your rights or obligations, we may require that you accept the modified Terms in order to continue to use the Site. Material modifications are effective upon your acceptance of the modified Terms. Immaterial modifications are effective upon publication. Except as expressly permitted in this Section 8, these Terms may be amended only by a written agreement signed by authorized representatives of the parties to these Terms. Disputes arising under these Terms will be resolved in accordance with the version of these Terms that was in effect at the time the dispute arose.
9. Term, Termination and Modification of the Site
9.1 Term. These Terms are effective beginning when you accept the Terms or first access or use the Site, and ending when terminated as described in Section 9.2.
9.2 Termination. If you violate any provision of these Terms, your authorization to access the Site and these Terms automatically terminates. In addition, EFI may, at its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access to the Site, at any time for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.
9.3 Effect of Termination. Upon termination of these Terms: (a) your license rights will terminate and you must immediately cease all use of the Site; (b) you will no longer be authorized to access the Site; and (c) Sections 4.2, 4.3, 5,
9.3, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 will survive.
9.4 Modification of the Site. EFI reserves the right to modify or discontinue the Site at any time (including by limiting or discontinuing certain features of the Site), temporarily or permanently, without notice to you. EFI will have no liability for any change to the Site or any suspension or termination of your access to or use of the Site.
10. Indemnity. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you are responsible for your use of the Site, and you will defend and indemnify EFI, and its respective officers, directors, employees, consultants, affiliates, subsidiaries and agents (together, the “EFI Entities”) from and against every claim brought by a third party, and any related liability, damage, loss, and expense, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs, arising out of or connected with:
a) your unauthorized use of, or misuse of, the Site;
b) your violation of any portion of these Terms, any representation, warranty, or agreement referenced in these Terms, or any applicable law or regulation;
c) your violation of any third party right, including any intellectual property right or publicity, confidentiality, other property, or privacy right; or
d) any dispute or issue between you and any third party. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you (without limiting your indemnification obligations with respect to that matter), and in that case, you agree to cooperate with our defense of those claims.
11. Disclaimers; No Warranties
THE SITE AND ALL MATERIALS AND CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ON AN “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. EFI DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, RELATING TO THE SITE AND ALL MATERIALS AND CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE, INCLUDING: (A) ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT; AND (B) ANY WARRANTY ARISING OUT OF COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE, OR TRADE. EFI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE OR ANY PORTION OF THE SITE, OR ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT OFFERED THROUGH THE SITE, WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR FREE OF ERRORS, VIRUSES, OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, AND EFI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY OF THOSE ISSUES WILL BE CORRECTED.
NO ADVICE OR INFORMATION, WHETHER ORAL OR WRITTEN, OBTAINED BY YOU FROM THE SITE OR EFI ENTITIES OR ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SITE WILL CREATE ANY WARRANTY REGARDING ANY OF THE EFI ENTITIES OR THE SITE THAT IS NOT EXPRESSLY STATED IN THESE TERMS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE SITE AND YOUR DEALING WITH ANY OTHER SITE USER. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU USE ANY PORTION OF THE SITE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND THAT WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR PROPERTY (INCLUDING YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR MOBILE DEVICE USED IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE) OR ANY LOSS OF DATA.
THE LIMITATIONS, EXCLUSIONS AND DISCLAIMERS IN THIS SECTION APPLY TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. EFI does not disclaim any warranty or other right that EFI is prohibited from disclaiming under applicable law.
12. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE EFI ENTITIES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, OR ANY OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSS) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR ACCESS TO OR USE OF, OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE, THE SITE OR ANY MATERIALS OR CONTENT ON THE SITE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT ANY EFI ENTITY HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE EFI ENTITIES TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE USE OF OR ANY INABILITY TO USE ANY PORTION OF THE SITE OR OTHERWISE UNDER THESE TERMS, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT, OR OTHERWISE, IS LIMITED TO $100.
EACH PROVISION OF THESE TERMS THAT PROVIDES FOR A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES, OR EXCLUSION OF DAMAGES IS INTENDED TO AND DOES ALLOCATE THE RISKS BETWEEN THE PARTIES UNDER THESE TERMS. THIS ALLOCATION IS AN ESSENTIAL ELEMENT OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN THE PARTIES. EACH OF THESE PROVISIONS IS SEVERABLE AND INDEPENDENT OF ALL OTHER PROVISIONS OF THESE TERMS. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION 12 WILL APPLY EVEN IF ANY LIMITED REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
13. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration. With respect to any and all disputes arising out of or in connection with these Sites or these Terms (including without limitation our Privacy Policy), EFI and you agree to negotiate in good faith and undertake reasonable efforts to cooperate with one another in order to achieve a mutually satisfactory resolution. You agree that EFI is entitled to obtain preliminary injunctive relief to the extent allowed by law to enforce any of the terms of these Terms.
13.1 Generally. Any dispute between you and EFI with respect to these Terms that cannot be resolved by amicable discussion (including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination, or the application of the requirement to arbitrate claims), shall be resolved through binding arbitration in the District of Columbia, conducted in the English language in front of a single arbitrator in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, and governed by the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, “AAA Rules”) of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), as modified by these Terms, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and filing forms are available online at www.adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879, or by contacting EFI.
13.2 No Class Actions. YOU AND EFI AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, unless both you and EFI agree otherwise, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding.
13.3 Enforceability. If Section 13.2 is found to be unenforceable or if the entirety of this Section 13 is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Section 13 will be null and void and, in that case, you and EFI agree that the exclusive jurisdiction and venue described in Section 14.2 will govern any action arising out of or related to these Terms.
14. Miscellaneous
14.1 General Terms. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other agreements expressly incorporated by reference into these Terms, are the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between you and EFI regarding your use of the Site. You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights under these Terms, in whole or in part, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms at any time without notice or consent. The failure to require performance of any provision will not affect our right to require performance at any other time after that, nor will a waiver by us of any breach or default of these Terms, or any provision of these Terms, be a waiver of any subsequent breach or default or a waiver of the provision itself. Use of section headers in these Terms is for convenience only and will not have any impact on the interpretation of any provision. Throughout these Terms the use of the word “including” means “including but not limited to”. If any part of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the unenforceable part will be given effect to the greatest extent possible, and the remaining parts will remain in full force and effect.
14.2 Governing Law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the District of Columbia without regard to conflict of law principles. You and EFI submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the state courts and federal courts located within the District of Columbia for resolution of any lawsuit or court proceeding permitted under these Terms. We operate the Site from our offices in the District of Columbia, and we make no representation that Materials included in the Site are appropriate or available for use in other locations.
14.3 Privacy Policy. Please read the EFI Privacy Policy https://equitablefood.org/privacy-policy/carefully for information relating to our collection, use, storage, disclosure of your personal information. The EFI Privacy Policy is incorporated by this reference into, and made a part of, these Terms.
14.4 Additional Terms. Your use of the Site is subject to all additional terms, policies, rules, or guidelines applicable to the Site or certain features of the Site that we may post on or link to from the Site (the “Additional Terms”). All Additional Terms are incorporated by this reference into, and made a part of, these Terms.
14.5 Consent to Electronic Communications. By using the Site, you consent to receive certain electronic communications from us as further described in our Privacy Policy. Please read our Privacy Policy to learn more about our electronic communications practices. You agree that any notices, agreements, disclosures, or other communications that we send to you electronically will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including that those communications be in writing.
14.6 Contact Information. The Site is offered by Equitable Food Initiative, located at 1875 Connecticut Ave NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20009. You may contact us by sending correspondence to that address or by emailing us at info@equitablefood.org. You can access a copy of these Terms by clicking here: https://equitablefood.org/terms-of-service.
14.7 Notice to California Residents. If you are a California resident, under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, you may contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Sites of the California Department of Consumer Affairs in writing at 1625 N. Market Blvd., Suite S-202, Sacramento, California 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210 in order to resolve a complaint regarding the Site or to receive further information regarding use of the Site.
14.8 No Support. We are under no obligation to provide support for the Site. In instances where we may offer support, the support will be subject to published policies.
14.9 International Use. The Site is intended for visitors located within the United States. We make no representation that the Site is appropriate or available for use outside of the United States. Access to the Site from countries or territories or by individuals where such access is illegal is prohibited.
Last Updated: 6/21
