Privacy Policy

The Waltham Forest Food Growers Network (WFFGN) is coordinated by OrganicLea CIC, who act as the data controller for the purposes of UK data protection law.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:

Greg Frey — OrganicLea CIC
Email: greg@organiclea.org.uk
Website: www.organiclea.org.uk

1. What information we collect

We collect personal information that you provide when you become a member, sign up for events or activities, subscribe to our mailing list, contact us, or participate in surveys or equality monitoring.

Membership and contact information

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Postal address
  • Associated community garden(s)
  • Account username
  • Membership status
  • Communication preferences

Payment information

Membership payments are processed securely by Stripe. We do not store full payment card details. We may receive limited payment-related information from Stripe, such as confirmation of payment status, transaction IDs and subscription status.

Equality monitoring information (optional)

We may collect optional equality monitoring information including:

  • Age range
  • Ethnicity
  • Religion or belief
  • Disability or health condition
  • Sex and gender identity
  • Sexual orientation
  • Socioeconomic background information
Providing this information is entirely optional. We collect it to better understand who participates in the network, identify barriers to participation, improve accessibility and inclusion, inform organisational development, support funding applications, and produce anonymised demographic summaries. We process this information only with your explicit consent.

2. Lawful bases for processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Purpose Lawful basis
Managing memberships and subscriptions Contract
Processing payments Contract and legal obligation
Communicating with members about WFFGN activities Legitimate interests
Sending newsletters and updates to subscribers Consent
Equality monitoring data Explicit consent
Financial record keeping Legal obligation

You may withdraw consent for optional equality monitoring information or mailing list communications at any time.

3. How we store and protect your data

Membership and contact information is stored securely using CiviCRM. Access to WFFGN membership data is restricted to designated OrganicLea CIC staff members working as WFFGN coordinators.

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information from:

  • Unauthorised access
  • Misuse
  • Accidental loss
  • Disclosure
  • Alteration or destruction

We do not sell personal information. Members are not visible to each other through our systems.

4. Equality monitoring and sensitive personal data

Some equality monitoring information is classified as “special category data” under UK GDPR. We treat this information with additional care and confidentiality.

This information:

  • Is optional
  • Is only collected with explicit consent
  • Is only accessed by authorised staff where necessary
  • Is used primarily in aggregated or anonymised form
  • Is not shared publicly in personally identifiable form

Where reporting categories contain very small numbers that could risk identifying individuals, we may combine or suppress categories to protect privacy.

You may request deletion of your equality monitoring information at any time.

5. Sharing information with third parties

We may share limited personal information with trusted service providers who help us operate WFFGN, including:

  • CiviCRM (membership and contact management)
  • Stripe (payment processing)
  • Email and communications platforms
  • Website hosting providers

These providers process data only on our instructions and are expected to maintain appropriate security and confidentiality standards. We may also disclose information where legally required.

We do not sell or trade member personal data.

6. Data retention

We keep personal information only for as long as necessary. Our current retention periods are:

Type of information Retention period
Active membership records Duration of membership
Former member records Up to 1 year after membership ends
Financial transaction records Up to 6 years where legally required
Mailing list data Until unsubscribed or removed
Equality monitoring data Reviewed periodically and deleted when no longer necessary

We may retain limited information where required for legal, financial or safeguarding reasons.

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the following rights relating to your personal information:

✓ Access your personal data
✓ Correct inaccurate information
✓ Request deletion of your data
✓ Restrict or object to processing
✓ Withdraw consent at any time
✓ Request a copy of your data
✓ Complain to the ICO

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us.

8. Mailing lists and communications

If you choose to subscribe to our mailing list, we may contact you with updates about WFFGN activities, events and opportunities, newsletters, campaigns and related information.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in emails or by contacting us.

9. Cookies and website use

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies to support website functionality and understand website usage. Further information about cookies will be provided through our website cookie notices where applicable.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most recent version will always be published on our website with the updated revision date.

11. Contact and complaints

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, please contact:

OrganicLea CIC
Email: greg@organiclea.org.uk

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO): ico.org.uk