Personal data

When you come to a food bank for help, the food bank will keep some data about you. This is “personal data”, because it is about you as a particular person, and it can be linked to you.

What personal data do we hold?

The food bank will keep the data that is on your food bank voucher(s). That means we will keep your name, address, and year of birth; the number of other adults and children in your household; and the reason you needed to come to the food bank. We will also keep a record of who gave you the food bank voucher.If we can give you extra help, there may be extra things we need to ask you about, and will keep a record of.

How is your personal data kept safe?

Your data is kept in a secure database. This can only be accessed with a login and password. We require all users of the system to sign a “data protection statement”. This means they know they must keep your data safe, and only use it for the right purposes. All our other volunteers also have to sign a confidentiality agreement. We are as careful as possible to make sure no one else can log into the data system. For example, when a volunteer leaves the food bank, we stop their access to the data system. Any data extrapolated from the database for analysis is strictly kept within the Hackney Foodbank IT ecosystem and stored on a secure cloud storage (OneDrive). f you came to the food bank with a printed voucher, your voucher will be kept separately. Printed vouchers will be shredded shortly once they have been processed onto the database.

If you choose to accept additional support we may refer you to another organisation better suited to help you with your needs. All referral forms will be kept on a secure cloud storage (OneDrive) with only the caseworker having access. Any information you provide will be authorised by you before we share it with another organisation. We will also store your information on Monday.com to track the status of your referral.

What is your data used for?

We use your data for three things:

1. We need to be able to check how many times you have been to the foodbank.

2. We need to keep some of your data so we can calculate the number of people coming to foodbanks, and the reasons they need to. This is so we can help other people understand how much foodbanks are needed and why people have to come to foodbanks for help.

3. If we can give you extra help, such as with benefits maximisation, referrals to other organisations & distributing council grants etc. There may be extra questions we need to ask you. This will be because we need particular information in order to know how to better help you & the wider community.

Does the foodbank have a right to your data?

Under Data Protection legislation, the foodbank needs to have a “lawful basis” for keeping your data, and for using it. There are several types of “lawful basis”. One of them is called “legitimate interests”. The foodbank has a “legitimate interest” in keeping the data from your foodbank voucher. This is so we can carry out the two main purposes described above – checking how many times clients visit the foodbank, and reporting on the need for foodbanks.

There is another type of “lawful basis” called “performance of a contract”. If we are to give you extra help, we may need particular information from you. We may need to ask you additional questions and record the answers. The lawful basis for this will be “performance of a contract.”

Who can see your data?

Your data can be seen by people from this food bank who have been given a login and password for the data system. If you go to two food banks, people from both food banks will be able to see the data from all your food bank visits – not just for the visits to their own food bank. Some agencies can refer you to a food bank using an on-line system called “e-referral”. If an agency has done this for you, then the agency will also be able to see the data for your visit. E-referral agencies and other food banks can also see the dates when someone with your name and postcode has been to a food bank. They can’t see any more data, like your address or why you needed food bank help. We will never give or sell your data to any other bodies.

How long will your data be kept?

Your personal data is kept for six years. This is so we could prove we have acted properly as a charity, and used people’s donations in the right way. Charity law means we may need to be able to prove this.

Who can you speak to if you have questions?

If you have questions about your data, and what we do with it, please contact us info@hackneyfoodbank.org

What rights do you have?

You have a number of rights under Data Protection legislation:

1. Right to be know what data we hold. You have a right to know what personal data we hold about you. This Data Privacy Statement describes the data that we will hold. But you can ask if we have any other data about you which is not covered by this Data Privacy Statement.

2. Right to have a copy of the data we hold. You can ask for a copy of the data we hold about you. This is called a “subject access request”. If you make a “subject access request”, we will give you a copy of all the data we hold about you. We will do this within one month. If it helps, we will give you the data in a computer file.

3. Right to object. You can object if you think we are using your data in the wrong way. You can also object if you think we don’t have “lawful grounds” for using your data. We will give you a statement explaining why we use your data and explaining the “lawful grounds”. If you are still not happy, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. If we find we are using your data in the wrong way, we will stop immediately and stop it happening again.

4. Right to have your data corrected

If you think there is a mistake in your data, please tell us. You have a right to have it corrected. We may need to check what is the correct data, but will put right any mistakes as soon as possible.

5. Right to be forgotten. We promise to remove your data after six years. You have a right for this to happen, because we don’t need to keep your data any longer than six years. Finally, if anything happened to your data that could be a risk to you, we will do our best to tell you..