Terms of Service

Agreement to Terms

By visiting, browsing, reading, downloading, sharing, or otherwise using this website, you agree to these Terms of Service. They apply to every visitor, commenter, subscriber, registered user, and organization that accesses the site on behalf of staff, members, clients, or the public.

We write about food security policy, community food systems, sustainable agriculture, and advocacy practice. That work often reaches people in different roles: local officials, nonprofit staff, researchers, organizers, producers, students, and residents looking for plain-language policy context. These terms create a basic shared understanding for all of those uses.

If you do not accept these terms, do not use the site.

Relationship to other site policies

These terms should be read with our Privacy Policy and any notice posted on a specific page, form, event listing, publication, or downloadable resource. If a page gives narrower instructions for a particular resource, follow the narrower instruction for that resource.

User Responsibilities and Conduct

Use this site in a lawful, respectful, and practical way. A policy library only works when people can find materials, cite them fairly, and ask questions without the site being disrupted.

You may not use this site to harass others, impersonate another person or organization, collect personal information unlawfully, or distribute misleading material that appears to come from abfoodpolicy. You also may not use the site to promote fraud, unlawful discrimination, threats, or activity that violates applicable law.

We may limit, suspend, or block access when a user’s conduct threatens site security, violates these terms, or creates a burden that prevents others from using the site.

Content Disclaimer and Educational Purpose

Content on this site is provided “as is” for general information and educational use. We aim to make food security policy easier to understand, especially where public programs, local planning, and community implementation meet.

We do not promise that every page is complete, current, or fit for a specific decision. Food assistance rules, agricultural regulations, funding conditions, and local procedures can change by jurisdiction and date. A city grant example that makes sense for one pantry network may not transfer cleanly to a rural cooperative or a school district procurement process.

Not professional advice

The site does not provide legal, financial, medical, nutritional, engineering, tax, or other professional advice. Reading an article, downloading a guide, or contacting us through a form does not create an attorney-client, advisor-client, funder-applicant, or similar professional relationship.

Where we discuss policy options, we do so to support public learning and civic participation. Do not treat any article as a complete compliance checklist, grant application strategy, emergency food plan, or substitute for advice from a qualified person who understands the facts on the ground.

License to Use Site Materials

We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive license to access and use this site for personal, educational, advocacy, research, and other non-commercial browsing purposes. You may link to public pages and share short excerpts with clear attribution to abfoodpolicy.

This license does not give you ownership of the site, its design, text, graphics, downloads, databases, branding, or other materials. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

Uses that need permission

You may not copy full articles into another website, resell our materials, remove attribution, create a competing archive, mirror the site, package our content as a paid product, or use our name in a way that suggests endorsement without written permission.

Community coalitions often need practical handouts for meetings. If you want to adapt a public resource for a workshop, local campaign, classroom session, or food policy council briefing, contact us first so we can discuss the intended use and attribution.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, abfoodpolicy and its contributors, partners, officers, volunteers, contractors, and affiliates will not be liable for damages arising out of or related to your use of, or inability to use, this site.

This includes indirect, incidental, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive losses; loss of data; lost funding opportunities; lost revenue; interruption of work; reliance on outdated information; or actions taken after reading site content.

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot legally be limited. If your jurisdiction does not allow certain exclusions, those exclusions apply only to the extent the law allows.

Applicable Law and Jurisdiction

These terms are interpreted under the laws of the operating jurisdiction for abfoodpolicy, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute that cannot be resolved informally must be brought before the competent local courts in that jurisdiction, unless mandatory law requires another forum.

If one part of these terms is found invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, the remaining parts stay in effect. The unenforceable part should be read as narrowly as needed so the rest of the agreement continues to operate.

No waiver by delay

If we do not enforce a term immediately, that does not mean we waive the right to enforce it later. Site misuse sometimes appears first as a technical problem and only later as a pattern. We may respond when the pattern becomes clear.

Modifications to These Terms

We may revise these terms periodically as the site changes, as new features are added, or as legal and operational needs develop. When we update the terms, we will change the “Last updated” date near the top of this page.

Your continued use of the site after updated terms are posted means you accept the revised terms. If a change materially affects how a submitted resource, account feature, or downloadable material may be used, we may also post a notice in the relevant area of the site.

It is your responsibility to review the terms from time to time, especially before relying on site materials for a campaign, public meeting, grant narrative, training, or organizational policy.

Contact Information

Questions about these terms can be sent through the channels listed on our Contact Us page. Please include the page URL, the term you are asking about, and enough context for us to understand the use you have in mind.

We cannot promise a custom legal review of every request, but we do read practical questions about citation, reuse, access, and site conduct. If a term affects how you plan to use abfoodpolicy materials, ask before you publish, repurpose, or distribute them.