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The MIFB is committed to an inclusive, accessible, safe, and equitable community pantry. The MIFB respects that privacy and confidentiality are critical to the safety of individuals that come through the MIFB doors.

The MIFB is committed to protecting the privacy and the personal information of its network, donors, employees, other stakeholders and users of our website. MIFB values the trust of those we deal with, and of the public, and recognizes that maintaining this trust requires that we be transparent and accountable in how we treat the personal information that is shared with us.

All workers of MIFB must secure all the personal/business information of our customers, donors, vendors, volunteers, clients, suppliers, contractors as outlined below:

● No information may be left visible to unauthorized personnel.
● All information must be secured by worker when leaving their work area.
● No unauthorized personnel may access our files or database.
● Information given by a donor should only be kept if the donor is asked. E.g., “May I keep this
information and contact you to follow up?”
● Personal information will be retained as long as the file is active and for such periods of time
as may be prescribed by applicable laws and regulations.
● All inactive files or personal information no longer required are shredded prior to disposal to
prevent inadvertent disclosure to unauthorized persons. Information contained in an inactive
file will be retained for a period of seven (7) years, except in the case where an
application/contract is rejected. Where an application/contract has been rejected, the file and
all personal information contained in the file will be retained for a period of two (2) years.

An individual can choose not to provide some or all of the personal information at any time, but if
MIFB is unable to collect sufficient information to validate the request to do business, the
individual’s application/contract may be turned down.

Clients’ personal information is the property of MIFB and may not be taken by a worker when leaving the premises or when the relationship between MIFB and the worker ends for whatever reason.

MIFB will use physical, organizational, and technological measures to safeguard personal
information to only those workers or third parties who need to know this information for the
purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. Personal information contained in the company’s computers and electronic databases is to be password protected.

An individual who wishes to review or verify what personal information is held by the company, or to whom the information has been disclosed (as permitted by the Act), may make the request for access, in writing, to the Office of the Information & Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia.
A customer or an individual can withdraw consent to MIFB’s use of personal information at any time prior to the application being approved, by making such request in writing. MIFB is responsible for reviewing this policy every three (3) years and implementing recommended amendments to ensure on-going compliance with regulatory standards and legislated obligations.

Management personnel will ensure that they and the workers under their supervision are familiar
with this policy. Worker’s personal information will be kept secure and accessed by authorized
personnel only. This information will be used as required for payroll purposes, benefit plans,
WorkSafe BC, government reporting, our computing providers and its related companies.

All materials published by the MIFB (promotional materials, social media) photos/videos must first have written approval of all individuals shown in the photo. Prior to the image of a minor being published, written consent by their parent/guardian is required.

The MIFB is committed to providing excellent service. We recognize that from time to time there may be inquiries, concerns or complaints and we believe that our stakeholders have the right to tell us about them. We also have a responsibility to respond to them appropriately, resolving complaints in a timely, fair, respectful and consistent manner. Those sharing concerns or complaints must be able to do so without fear of reprisal and any form of retaliation. This policy ensures that we have a coordinated and consistent response to complaints, and that our responses are informed by our mission, vision and values. Any individual, donor, prospective donor, member of the general public, provincial association, affiliate food bank, and/or business who may have a complaint about the MIFB are encouraged to contact the MIFB directly.  MIFB can be contacted by phone at 250-222-3663 or by email at info@mayneislandfoodbank.com. Complaints may relate to and are not limited to: MIFB programs and campaigns, donor-driven fundraising initiatives (e.g. cause-marketing or third party campaigns), individual donations made to MIFB, tax receipting, gifts-in-kind, donor recognition, compliance with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), advertising, provincial associations and affiliate food banks, food shared with food banks/individuals etc. Concerns, questions and complaints that arise will be handled by a MIFB staff member. A report of complaints is provided regularly to the Board of Directors as to the nature and number of complaints received by the MIFB.

Process for Handling Complaints

When addressing concerns or complaints:

• Privacy and confidentiality will be respected at all times.
• The initial response to a complaint will occur as soon as possible and not more than 3 business days from receiving the complaint.
• Every effort will be made to review and respond to a complaint within 10 business days.
• It is important to ensure that there is no real or perceived reprisal resulting from an individual bringing forward a concern or complaint.
• Approach depends on the risk level (low, medium or high) of a complaint.
• Debrief of medium and high risk complaints will be reviewed to identify if there is a required change in MIFB’s policies, processes, programs etc. to reduce the opportunity of a similar situation or complaint. All complaints must be tracked in the organization’s complaint tracking file, recording the contact information of the complainant, summary of the complaint, who received the complaint and what action was taken.

Complaints can be assessed by risk level:

1. High Risk:

• Impacts the reputation of the MIFB, Food Banks Canada, a provincial association or affiliate food bank
• Impacts the reputation of a donor
• Impacts the safety of the public, an employee or volunteer at a food bank
• High risk safe food handling practices
• Breach of Foodbanking Code of Ethics
• Suggestions of legal/financial wrongdoing
• A threat to involve the media

2. Medium

• Issues related to our communication (advertising, programs etc)
• Quality of service provided by food banks and/or food bank staff/volunteers
• General comments about quality of food provided by food banks
• Issues related to how donated funds are invested

3. Low risk:

• General comments/complaints about food banks, food bank use, fundraising, communications

General Approach:

• Please focus as much as possible on responding with verifiable information, or on simply

recording feedback or a complaint, and thanking the person for their input. Please limit providing your personal opinions in these conversations.

• All complaints will be recorded in the Complaints Tracking and Summary Report
• Staff fielding calls must be aware of their individual capacity to answer particular questions or

respond to complaints. Be prudent – do not rush to appease the caller, and don’t hesitate to

consult with other team members re: an appropriate response.

• All low and medium risk complaints regarding a particular food bank or provincial association

will be forwarded by phone or email to the relevant provincial association.

• A high risk complaints about a particular food bank or provincial association may be addressed

directly to the initiator and working jointly with the provincial association to resolve

1. Low risk complaints

• Low risk complaints can be addressed directly by staff who regularly field calls through the

General Line.

• Determine if complaint requires further follow up/response

2. Medium risk inquiries and complaints

• These types of inquiries and complaints can be addressed directly by staff who regularly field

calls through the General Line.

• Staff will regularly report on medium risk complaints with their respective managers to

discuss and receive support for appropriate responses.

3. High risk inquiries and complaints

All high risk inquiries and complaints require consultation between the fielding staff team

member and the Board of Directors; consultation with other relevant staff team members is also encouraged. These types of inquiries and complaints will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

To allow the team to best address high risk complaints, please ensure the following:

• Take contact information of the person making the inquiry/complaint
• If possible understand and record the caller’s timeline for receiving a response
• Assure the caller that a team member will follow up ASAP
• Avoid sharing too much information with individual making the complaint before consulting

with a manager

Review what caused the situation, identify if the situation could have been avoided and what

could be changed to reduce the chance of another similar situation and determine most

appropriate follow up.

Further Dispute Resolution Process

If the individual making the complaint is not satisfied with the outcome, an issue can be escalated to the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors will consider whether or not due process was followed and if the complaint warrants further response. This will not necessarily change the decision or final outcome. If due process was not followed the outcome may be changed.

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The Ethical Foodbanking Code

Food Banks Canada, the provincial associations, and affiliate food banks/programs will:

• Provide food and other assistance to those needing help regardless of race, national or ethnic origin, citizenship, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, income source, age, and mental or physical ability.
• Treat all those who access services with the utmost dignity and respect.
• Implement best practices in the proper and safe storage and handling of food.
• Respect the privacy of those served and will maintain the confidentiality of personal information.
• Not sell donated food.
• Acquire and share food in a spirit of cooperation with other food banks and food programs.
• Strive to make the public aware of the existence of hunger and of the factors that contribute to it.
• Recognize that food banks are not a viable long-term response to hunger and devote part of their activities to reducing the need for food assistance.
• Represent accurately, honestly, and completely their respective mission and activities to the larger community.

Code D’Ethique De Dépannage Alimentaire

Banques alimentaires Canada, ses membres (associations provinciales) et son réseau de banques alimentaires affiliées et d’organismes partenaires vont:

• Fourniront des denrées alimentaires et de l’aide à ceux qui en ont besoin, sans tenir compte de leur race, de leur origine nationale ou ethnique, de leur citoyenneté, de la couleur de leur peau, de leur religion, de leur sexe, de leur orientation sexuelle, de leur source de revenu, de leur âge ou d’une incapacité mentale ou physique.
• Traiteront tous ceux qui ont accès à ces services avec la plus grande dignité et le plus grand respect.
• Respecteront les pratiques exemplaires en matière de conservation et de manipulation appropriées et salubres des aliments.
• Respecteront la vie privée des personnes qu’elles aident et assureront la confidentialité des renseignements personnels.
• Ne vendront pas des aliments donnés.
• Se procureront et partageront des denrées alimentaires dans un esprit de collaboration avec d’autres banques alimentaires et programmes alimentaires.
• Feront tout leur possible pour sensibiliser l’opinion publique au problème de la faim, et aux facteurs qui y contribuent.
• Ne perdront pas de vue le fait que les banques alimentaires ne sont pas une réponse viable à long terme au problème de la faim, et consacreront une partie de leurs activités à diminuer le besoin de recourir à l’aide alimentaire.
• Affirmeront avec exactitude, en toute honnêteté et totalement, leur mission et leurs activités respectives auprès de l’ensemble de la communauté.

The MIFB Board is committed to the goal of ensuring that anyone to whom we send electronic
communications does not receive spam from us. We only send commercial electronic messages (“CEMs”) in compliance with our Anti-Spam Policy, which has been developed in accordance with Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”).

This Anti-Spam Policy applies to all employees, contractors and other representatives of the MIFB.

When sending out a CEM, or when a CEM is sent out on behalf of the MIFB, the SFRBC will
ensure that it has received the proper express consent or implied consent as defined in CASL from the recipient and that the CEM contains the following:

a) Identifying information so that the recipient knows that the message was sent by or on behalf
of the MIFB;
b) The MIFB’s contact information so that the recipient is able to contact us; and
c) An unsubscribe mechanism. MIFB must ensure that there is a clear unsubscribe mechanism on every CEM sent out by or on behalf of the MIFB.

Further, the MIFB will ensure that:

a. A confirmation page for unsubscribe requests will be included that captures the submitted request date within ten (10) business days from request.
b. In the event that an individual notifies a worker of the MIFB directly that they wish to
unsubscribe, the worker will advise their supervisor so that the MIFB may delete this individual
from our contact list.

MIFB is committed to respecting our members’, stakeholders’ and donors’ right to be spam- free and strives to ensure that every message we send provides only relevant information to the recipient. We realize that preferences may also change.

CONSENT
The law prohibits any person from sending (or causing or permitting to be sent) a CEM unless the recipient expressly or implicitly consents to receiving the message. Without consent, the MIFB is limited as to how and when we can communicate through CEM. Under CASL, there are two types of consent: express and implied. Each of these has their own rules and requirements that the MIFB follows when obtaining such consent. Consent may be withdrawn at any time.

Express Consent:
Under express consent, the intended recipient gives explicit permission (electronically, in writing, or orally with documentation) to MIFB to send them emails. Express consent does not expire unless consent is withdrawn.

Consent must:
● Clearly describe the purpose of requesting consent from the recipient.
● Identify the MIFB as the organization that is seeking consent.
● Include all essential company information within the CEM, MIFB name and contact
information (including address and phone number).
● Ask for recipient’s contact information, such as mailing address (PO boxes are valid), telephone
number (home or business), email address, or website address.
● Inform the recipient that they can unsubscribe or withdraw consent at any time.
● Make a note in the recipient’s file:
a. whether consent was obtained;
b. when it was obtained (date and time);
c. why it was obtained (main purpose); and
d. the manner in which it was obtained (telephone, in person, etc.)

Implied Consent:
For every individual with whom MIFB has an existing business relationship or an existing non-
business relationship, MIFB has implied consent from that individual even if he/she never
explicitly gave consent.

The following criteria must be met for an existing business relationship:
a) The MIFB has sold, leased or bartered products, goods or services to the recipient within the
two (2) years before the message was sent unless consent has been withdrawn; or
b) The MIFB received any kind of inquiry from the customer within the previous six (6) months
unless consent is withdrawn.

The following criteria must be met for an existing non-business relationship:
a) The MIFB has received a donation or gift from the recipient within the two (2) years before
the message was sent unless consent has been withdrawn;
b) The recipient was a volunteer for MIFB, or attended a MIFB event, within the two (2) years
before the message was sent unless consent is withdrawn; or
c) The recipient was a member of the MIFB within the two (2) years before the message was
sent unless consent is withdrawn.

EXCEPTIONS TO CONSENT
The MIFB must obtain consent for every CEM (Commercial Electronic Message) sent or have sent out on behalf of MIFB, except for CEMs that:

a) Provide a requested quote or estimate for the supply of a product, goods or services;
b) Facilitate or confirm a previously agreed to commercial transaction;
c) Provide warranty, product recall or safety information about a purchased product or service;
d) Provide factual information about a subscription, membership, account or similar relationship;
e) Present information directly related to the employment relationship or related benefit plan;
f) Deliver a product, including updates or upgrades in relation to a transaction;
g) Have a primary purpose of raising funds for MIFB, as a registered charity. This includes:
a. General solicitations for funds;
b. Promotions of fundraising events;
c. Other events or services undertaken to carry out MIFB’s charitable mission.

Whether or not consent is required, the MIFB will make efforts to ensure that the recipient only
receives the messages they want.