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Flexible Plant-Based Cooking by Donna Castellano, MS, RDN

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Terms, Conditions & Privacy

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Spoonful of Plants’ Privacy Policy

Thank you for visiting this site. By accessing this site, you accept these terms and conditions without limitation. The following policy applies to all websites of Spoonful of Plants and First Bite Photography, LLC.

Material Updates to this Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 1, 2024

Changes to this Privacy Policy apply only to data that you provide on or after the date listed above. Material updates to this Privacy Policy after January 1, 2024, include:

  • Clarification on why and how we collect and use your information;
  • Further definition of the parties with whom and for what purposes we share your information; and
  • Contact information for any inquiries regarding this notice or how Spoonful of Plants your information.

Introduction to this Privacy Policy

Welcome to SpoonfulofPlants.com (our “Website”), an interactive online service operated by First Bite Photography, LLC (“us”, “we” or “our”). We care about your privacy and want you to be familiar with how we collect, disclose, and otherwise use ("Process") your information. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting personally identifiable information you may provide to us through our Website (however accessed and/or used, whether via personal computers, mobile devices or otherwise). We have adopted this Privacy Policy (this “Privacy Policy”) to explain what information may be collected on our Website, how we use this information and under what circumstances we may disclose this information to third parties. 

More specifically, this Privacy Policy describes our practices in connection with the information we collect through our websites ("Websites"), social media pages ("Social Media Pages"), and software applications that we make available for use on or through computers and mobile devices ("Apps"), that include a link to this Privacy Policy, and through any of our offline activities (collectively, including the websites, apps, social media pages, and offline activities, "Services").

We keep this Privacy Policy posted on our Website and you should review it periodically, as it may change from time to time without notice. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the revised Privacy Policy. WHEN YOU ACCESS OUR WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY, OR TO ANY CHANGES WE MAY SUBSEQUENTLY MAKE, IMMEDIATELY STOP ACCESSING OUR WEBSITE. If at any point we decide to use your personally identifiable information in a manner materially different than what was stated at the time it was collected, we will notify users of this change by email to the last email address provided to us. Users will have a choice (by means of an opt-out opportunity) as to whether or not we use their personally identifiable information in this different manner. If you opt-out of the new policy, we will use personally identifiable information in accordance with the privacy policy under which such personally identifiable information was collected.

Please read the following to learn more about our privacy practices.

N.J.S.A. 56:8-161 et seq., applies to any company or person conducting business in New Jersey, which compiles or maintains computerized records that include personal information. "Personal information" is defined as "an individual's first name or first initial and last name linked with any one or more of the following data elements: (1) Social Security number (SSN); (2) driver's license number or state identification card number; or (3) account number or credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account.

For purposes of this Privacy Policy, "Personal Information" means any information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.

Our Website typically collects two kinds of information about you: (i) information that you provide that personally identifies you; and (ii) information that does not personally identify you that we automatically collect when you visit our Website or that you provide to us. 

Links to Other Sites-DISCLAIMER

This site provides links to other websites as a convenience to our users. These include links to websites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and private businesses. When you use one of these links, you are no longer on this site, and this Privacy Policy does not apply. When you link to another website, you are subject to the Privacy Policy of that site.  Any visitor who proceeds to those external sites and relies on any information obtained from them does so at his or her own risk and assumes any and all liability from damages which may result from accessing a third-party site linked to the State's website.

Spoonful of Plants exercises no control over the third-party organization's views, accuracy, copyright or trademark compliance, or the legality of the material contained on those websites, and do not sponsor, endorse, or approve the information, content, products, materials, opinions or services contained on such external sites.

Furthermore, when you follow a link to another website, portions of their information may be incorrect or out-of-date. Spoonful of Plants, its agents, officers, or employees of Spoonful of Plants do not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information published by external sites.

What Information Is Collected and How It Is Collected?

  • We may collect "personal information" (information that identifies you or relates to you specifically) about you such as your:
    • Name
    • Postal address, including billing and shipping addresses
    • Telephone number(s)
    • Email address(es)
    • Credit or debit card number(s)
    • Financial information in certain circumstances
    • Social media account information
    • Geolocation information
    • Communication, product, service, or other preferences
    • Demographic information
    • IP address
    • Personal health information
  • We may collect information from you when you interact with us, such as when you:
    • Register for, use, or make a payment for a service
    • Contact us with a question or request
    • Submit a question, comment, or complaint
    • "Like," "Follow," or otherwise connect with or post to one of the State's social media pages
  • Other information we collect about you:
    • Cookies: Our services may use “cookies” and similar technologies (collectively, "Cookies"). Cookies are small text files that this website sends to your computer for record-keeping purposes and this information is stored in a file on your computer’s hard drive. Cookies make web surfing and browsing easier for you by saving your preferences so that we can use these to improve your next visit to our website.
      • One of the purposes of cookies is to simplify the use of the website. A cookie may save a user’s login details for example, so that the user does not need to login every time.
      • Cookies are also used for statistical purposes, to determine how the website is used.
    • Google Analytics: We may use Google Analytics to help us get a better understanding of how visitors use this website.
    • Pixels, Beacons: We or third parties may use invisible pixels or beacons on this website to count how many users visit certain pages. This information is collected and reported either in the aggregate or anonymously. We may use this information to improve our content, and to better address the needs of our users when they use this website and/or other sites.
    • PUBLIC FORUMS. We may offer chat rooms, message boards, bulletin boards or similar public forums where you and other users of our Website can communicate. The protections described in this Privacy Policy do not apply when you provide information (including personally identifiable information) in connection with your use of these public forums. We may use personally identifiable and non-personal information about you to identify you with a posting in a public forum. Any information you share in a public forum is public information and may be seen or collected by anyone, including third parties that do not adhere to our Privacy Policy. We are not responsible for events arising from the distribution of any information you choose to publicly post or share through our Website.
    • From Other Sources: We may receive your personal information from other sources, such as public databases, social media platforms, from people with whom you are friends or otherwise connected on social media platforms, as well as from other third parties. For example, if you elect to connect your social media account to your website account, certain personal information from your social media account will be shared with us, which may include personal information that is part of your public profile, or your friends' public profiles.
    • Mobile Devices: When you use or access our services from a mobile device, we may collect information such as your unique device ID and your location. If you download and use an app, we and our service providers may track and collect app usage data, such as the date and time the app on your device accesses our servers and what information and files have been downloaded to the app based on your device number, as well as any other personal information specified by the app in its terms or notices.
    • Do Not Track Signals: Third parties, including our service providers, may collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites, including when you visit this website. You can learn about how to exercise choice regarding the collection of information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or online services by visiting: www.aboutads.info and networkadvertising.org.
      • If you would like to opt-out of having interest-based information collected during your visits to this or other websites, both the National Advertising Initiative (the “NAI”) and the Digital Advertising Alliance (the “DAA”) offer opt-out tools to assist you in managing your choices. Visit the NAI opt-out page http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/  and https://www.aboutads.info/consumers/ for the DAA Opt-Out Page.
    • Other Non-Personal Information: In addition to any personal information or other information that you choose to provide to us on our services, we and our third-party service providers may use a variety of technologies, now and hereafter devised, that automatically collect certain website usage information whenever you visit or interact with our services. This information may include browser type, operating system, the page served, the time, the source of the request, the preceding page view, and other similar information. We may use this usage information for a variety of purposes, including to enhance or otherwise improve our services. In addition, we may also collect your IP address or some other unique identifier for the particular device you use to access the Internet, as applicable (collectively, referred to herein as a "Device Identifier"). A device identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your device, and we may identify your device by its device identifier. When analyzed, usage information helps us determine how our services are used, such as what types of visitors arrive at the services, what type of content is most popular, what type of content you may find most relevant and what type of visitors are interested in particular kinds of content and advertising. We may associate your device identifier or website usage information with the personal information you provide, but we will treat the combined information as personal information.
    • We may also devise identifiers to secure the Spoonful of Plants website and associated technology infrastructure.

We use non-personal information in a variety of ways, including to help analyze site traffic, understand our user’s needs and trends and to improve our services. We may use your non-personal information by itself or aggregate it with information we have obtained from others. We may share your non-personal information with our third parties to achieve these objectives and others, but remember that aggregate information is anonymous information that does not personally identify you. We may provide our analysis and certain non-personal information to third parties, who may in turn use this information to provide additional services tailored to your needs, but this will not involve disclosing any of your personally identifiable information.

Because aggregated or anonymized information does not constitute personal information, we may use it for any purpose. If we combine anonymized or aggregated data with personal information, we will treat the combined information as personal information according to this Privacy Policy.

We may process personal information in connection with any of the following:

  1. Our business transactions with you, including, but not limited to:
    • To respond to your inquiries and fulfill your requests
    • To send administrative information to you, for example, information regarding the services
    • To complete and fulfill any requests for services
  1. For our legitimate interests, including, but not limited to:
    • To personalize your experience with our services
    • To carry out data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, internal quality assurance, developing new services, enhancing, improving or modifying our services, identifying usage trends, auditing use and functionality of our services and/or helping enforce compliance with our Privacy Statement and Disclaimers.
  1. In accordance with any consent you may have provided. In some cases, you have the right to decline to provide your consent and, if consent is provided, to withdraw your consent at any time.
  2. As necessary or appropriate for legal reasons, including, but not limited to:
    • Under applicable law
    • To comply with legal process
    • To respond to requests from other public and government authorities, including those outside your State or country of residence

When We Disclose Your Information

We may disclose your information as follows:  

  • Vendors and Service Providers: We may disclose your information to vendors and service providers we retain in connection with our services such as: financial services companies, website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, information technology and related infrastructure provision, email delivery, credit card processing, legal advisers, accountants or auditing.
  • Message Boards: We may make reviews, message boards, blogs, and other such user-generated content facilities available to users. Any information disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should always be careful when deciding to disclose your personal information. We are not responsible for privacy practices of other users, including website operators to whom you provide information.
  • Disclosure Permitted by Law: We may disclose your personal information to law enforcement authorities, other government or public agencies or officials, regulators, and/or to any other person or entity having appropriate legal authority or justification for receipt of your information, if required or permitted to do so by law or legal process, in order to respond to claims, or to protect our rights, interests, privacy, property or safety, and/or that of our affiliates, you or other third parties.

How Do We Safeguard Your Information?

  • Security of Your Information: We take reasonable steps to protect the information you provide us from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. We have implemented appropriate physical, electronic and managerial procedures to help safeguard and secure your information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration or destruction. Unfortunately, no security system is 100% secure; thus, we cannot ensure the security of all information you provide to us via our services. 

Other Important Information

  • Information Provided on Someone Else's Behalf: If you provide us with information about someone else, please ensure you have that person's permission to do so for the purposes detailed in this Privacy Policy.
  • Applications and Social Media Sites: Please note that we are not responsible for the collection, usage and disclosure of policies and practices, including the data security, of other organizations, such as Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, or any other app developer, app provider, social media platform provider, operating system provider, wireless service provider or device manufacturer, including any personal information you disclose to other organizations through or in connection with the apps or our social media pages.
  • Changes to Our Privacy Policy: From time to time, we may revise this Privacy Policy and/or use personal information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed to meet changes in laws, rules, policies or procedures, or to satisfy the needs of our users. Updated and date-stamped versions will be posted on our services. Unless otherwise required under applicable law, the revised Privacy Policy will take effect immediately upon such posting.
  • Minors: We at Spoonful of Plants are especially concerned about protecting children’s privacy. We hope parents and teachers are involved in children's internet explorations. It is particularly important for parents to guide their children when children are asked to provide personal information online. We specifically ask children to get their parents’ permission before providing any information online — at our site or any other site — and hope parents will always be involved in those decisions. 
  • International Transfers: The users of our services may come from all over the world. Therefore, we may, subject to applicable law, transfer your information, outside the country where you are located and where information protection standards may differ, e.g., your information may be stored on servers located in other states, or even countries. We will utilize appropriate safeguards governing the transfer and usage of your personal information. 
  • Retention Period. We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Your Choices and Rights

UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AND IN ACCORDANCE WITH APPLICABLE LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS:

  • Withdrawing Your Consent: You may withdraw any consent that you have provided to us to process your information at any time.
  • Accessing your Information: You may have rights to access the personal information we process about you.
  • Deleting your Information: You may request we delete personal information we hold about you.

We will assess your request(s) and determine, under applicable law, whether or not we are required to comply with your request.

Any request must be made in writing by contacting us as set forth under "Contact Us?" below. We may, depending on the applicable law where you live, be entitled to charge a nominal fee to cover some of our administration costs in connection with the provision of such information. We may also ask you to verify your identity and to provide further details relating to your request.

  • Correcting your Information: We will take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the personal information we retain about you. It is your responsibility to ensure you submit true, accurate, and complete information to us, and that you update us in a timely manner if your information changes. You may request that any inaccurate or incomplete personal information held by us or on our behalf is corrected, by contacting us as set forth under " Contact Us?" below.
  • Objecting to Processing: If you would like us to stop processing your personal information, you can request this by contacting us as set forth under " Contact Us?" below. We will assess your request and determine, under applicable law, whether or not we have any justification for the continued processing.
  • Transferring your Information: Under certain circumstances, you may receive your personal information in a format that allows you to send it somewhere else, or to direct us to transfer it directly somewhere else.

Secure Transmission

This site uses the industry standard encryption software Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to enable secure transmission of data. The URL in your browser will change to "HTTPS" instead of "HTTP" when this security feature is used. Your browser may also display a "padlock" or "key" symbol on its task bar to indicate a secure transmission. If these indicators are not present, information may be susceptible to interception by other parties. Most internet email communication is not considered secure. If you are communicating sensitive information, please consider sending it by postal mail or contacting Spoonful of Plants by phone.

Advertising Disclaimer

Spoonful of Plants does not endorse or sponsor the products, services or information appearing on privately-owned websites.

How Can You Contact Us?

  • Contact Information: If after reviewing this Privacy Policy, you have any questions, complaints or privacy concerns, or would like to make any requests in relation to your personal information, or obtain further information on safeguards, please send an email to donna@spoonfulofplants.com or send a letter to Spoonful of Plants, P.O. Box 17, Middletown NJ 07748

If you have a complaint or concern in the future about how we are processing your personal information, please contact us. You may also direct your complaint/concern to the applicable data protection authority.

Intellectual Property Policy

The Website and included content (and any derivative works or enhancements of the same) including, but not limited to, all text, illustrations, files, images, software, scripts, graphics, photos, sounds, music, videos, information, content, materials, products, services, URLs, technology, documentation and interactive features (collectively, the “Website Content”), and all intellectual property rights to the same, are owned by us, our licensors or both. Additionally, all trademarks, service marks, trade names and trade dress that may appear on the Website are owned by us, our licensors or both. Except for the limited use rights granted to you in this Intellectual Property Policy, you shall not acquire any right, title or interest in the Website or any Website Content. Any rights not expressly granted in this Intellectual Property Policy are expressly reserved.

Affiliate Program Participation

This Site may engage in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.

Spoonful of Plants is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com. As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website will post customized links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilizes cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.