Terms and Conditions

1. Agreement to These Terms

Welcome to HungerPods. These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) are a legally binding agreement between you and HungerPods Foundation(“HungerPods,” the “Foundation,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a California nonprofit public benefit corporation recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, EIN 41-5379406, with its principal place of business at 1 Technology Drive, Building J, Suite 703, Irvine, CA 92618, United States.

These Terms govern your access to and use of our website at https://hungerpods.org(the “Site”) and the programs, content, and services we make available through it (collectively, the “Services”), including donations and recurring monthly pledges, food-bag requests, volunteer opportunities, corporate sponsorships, and related communications.

By accessing or using the Services, making a donation, submitting a food-bag request, or clicking to accept these Terms, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy and our Donation and Refund Policy, each incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

2. About HungerPods

HungerPods Foundation is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to dignity-centered food relief in Southern California. Through community donations, bulk purchasing, donated goods, and volunteer support, we fund, pack, and distribute practical grocery bags to local households facing food insecurity, and we coordinate the donors, volunteers, community partners, and neighbors who make that work possible.

About our meal estimates.Where we describe a bag as providing “approximately 20 meals,” that is an estimate based on the typical contents of a $20 funded bag. Actual bag contents and meal yield vary with what we have available. Records supporting the distribution figures we publish are available on request at hello@hungerpods.org.

3. Eligibility

Donating. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to make a donation.

Requesting food. You must be at least 18 to submit a food-bag request. If you are under 18 and your household needs food, please ask an adult in your household to make the request, or contact us and we will help you find another way.

Volunteering. You must be at least 18 to sign up to volunteer.

Accurate information. You agree to provide true, accurate, current, and complete information when using the Services.

4. Donations, Payments, and Recurring Pledges

Voluntary charitable gifts.All donations are voluntary charitable contributions to HungerPods Foundation. Donations are not purchases of goods or services, and — unless we expressly state otherwise for a specific campaign — no goods or services are provided in exchange for your contribution.

Use of funds.We must use your gift for the charitable purposes for which it was solicited; that is a legal duty, not merely a promise. Within those purposes, and unless we agree otherwise in writing, donations are unrestricted gifts that HungerPods may apply where they are needed most in furtherance of its charitable mission — including purchasing staple foods in bulk, packing and distributing bags, running community distributions and deliveries, and covering reasonable program, administrative, and operating costs. References to specific amounts, such as a “$20 bag,” illustrate impact. They are not restrictions on your gift and not a promise that a particular bag is traceable to a particular donation. If you wish to restrict a gift to a specific purpose, please tell us before you give and we will confirm in writing whether we can accept it on those terms.

Currency. All donations are processed in U.S. dollars (USD).

Secure payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc., a PCI-DSS Level 1 certified payment processor. Your card details are transmitted over an encrypted (TLS) connection directly to Stripe and are never received or stored on HungerPods’ servers. By submitting payment information you represent that you are authorized to use the payment method provided, and you authorize us and Stripe to charge the stated amount.

Statement descriptor.Donations appear on your card or bank statement as “HUNGERPODS” or a close variation. If you do not recognize a charge, please contact us at hello@hungerpods.org or +1 (949) 969-8390before initiating a dispute with your bank — we can almost always resolve it faster.

Recurring monthly pledges. If you set up a recurring pledge, the amount and billing frequency are displayed clearly before you confirm. You expressly consent to ongoing automatic charges and authorize us and Stripe to charge your selected payment method on that schedule until you cancel. You receive an email receipt for every charge. You may cancel at any time by emailing hello@hungerpods.org or calling +1 (949) 969-8390, and we will never ask you to explain why. Cancellation takes effect for the next scheduled charge. Full details are in our Donation and Refund Policy.

Refunds. Donations are generally non-refundable, subject to the limited exceptions set out in our Donation and Refund Policy— including duplicate charges, incorrect amounts, unauthorized transactions, technical errors, and charges made after a valid cancellation.

Receipts and taxes. We provide a written acknowledgment for every donation. Contributions to HungerPods Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The deductibility of any particular gift depends on your own circumstances; please consult your tax advisor.

5. Requesting Food Assistance

HungerPods offers grocery-bag assistance to households facing food insecurity, subject to program eligibility, private verification, resource availability, and our current service area. Assistance is a charitable service provided at our reasonable discretion. A request is an application, not a guaranteed benefit or entitlement.

Truthful requests.Any request you submit must be truthful and made for your own household, or for another household with that household’s knowledge and consent. Please do not submit fraudulent or duplicate requests.

Private verification. We may confirm a request through a referral from a school, clinic, faith group, nonprofit, or other community partner, or through a brief private review with our care team.

Please do not send sensitive documents. Do not email or upload government identification, benefit letters, medical records, or financial statements. We do not need them.

We never charge for food.If anyone ever asks you to pay HungerPods for a bag, that person does not represent us — please tell us immediately.

Respectful conduct. Providing false information, attempting to obtain bags for resale, or harassing our staff, volunteers, partners, or participants may result in denial of assistance and termination of access to the Services.

Availability. We may pause requests when demand exceeds what we can supply.

6. Food Safety and Allergen Notice

Please read the label on every item before eating it.

Bags are packed with care from bulk-purchased and donated foods, and contents vary. Bags may contain, or come into contact with, common allergens including peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and gluten, milk, soy, and eggs. While we make reasonable, good-faith efforts to honor stated dietary preferences and restrictions, we cannot guarantee that any bag or item is free of any particular ingredient or allergen.

Please inspect contents for allergens, expiration dates, and damage. Refrigerate perishable items promptly, and discard anything that appears damaged, expired, spoiled, or otherwise unsafe.

All food is provided free of charge and in good faith. HungerPods, its food donors, and its partner organizations rely on the protections available under the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1791, as amended by the Food Donation Improvement Act of 2023, and under California’s food donation protections including Cal. Civ. Code § 1714.25.

These protections have limits, and we do not claim more than the law provides.The Bill Emerson Act does not apply to injury or death resulting from an act or omission constituting gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Nothing in these Terms limits our responsibility for gross negligence or intentional misconduct, or asks you to waive any right you cannot lawfully waive.

7. Volunteering

Opportunities are offered subject to availability, screening, training, and any separate volunteer agreement or liability waiver we may reasonably require.

Status. Volunteers serve without compensation and are not employees, contractors, or agents of HungerPods. We do not offer wages, stipends, or anything of value in exchange for volunteer service.

Safety and conduct. Volunteers agree to follow our safety guidance, food-handling instructions, site rules, and the reasonable directions of event leads.

Confidentiality. Volunteers who see any information about a household requesting assistance must keep it strictly confidential. They may not share, copy, photograph, or discuss that information outside their role, and must delete any participant details once the task is complete. Delivery volunteers receive only the minimum information needed for one safe drop-off.

Ending a volunteer relationship. You may stop volunteering at any time, and we may ask a volunteer to stop at any time.

8. Corporate Sponsorship

Corporate sponsorships are governed by a separate written sponsorship agreement, which controls in the event of any conflict with these Terms. In general:

• We acknowledge sponsors by name and logo. We do not endorse a sponsor’s products or services, and we do not carry advertising.
• HungerPods retains full editorial and operational control over our programs, where bags are distributed, and what we say publicly.
• Sponsors receive no access to information about donors or about households requesting assistance.
• Sponsorship refunds and cancellations are handled under the sponsorship agreement, not our general Donation and Refund Policy.

9. Communications

Email.You may opt out of non-transactional email at any time using the unsubscribe link in any message, or by contacting us. Transactional messages — receipts, request status, and cancellation confirmations — are part of the Services.

No fundraising appeals to households seeking help. We do not send donation appeals or public-sharing prompts to households through the assistance experience.

10. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Services to: act for any unlawful, fraudulent, or deceptive purpose; impersonate any person or organization; harass, threaten, stalk, or harm any donor, neighbor, volunteer, employee, or partner; collect or scrape personal information about other users; interfere with or disrupt the Services; or sell, barter, or commercially exploit donated food or any assistance provided through the Services.

Please do not fundraise in the HungerPods name without our prior written permission.

11. Your Submissions and Photographs

General submissions. If you submit or share content through the Services, you grant HungerPods a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, adapt, publish, distribute, and display that content in connection with operating, promoting, and improving the Services. You may withdraw this permission at any time by emailing us and we will stop using the content going forward, although we cannot recall printed materials already distributed.

Stories and photographs from households receiving assistance are treated differently.We will never publish the story, image, or identifying details of a household receiving food except with that household’s separate, specific, written permission, freely given and revocable at any time. Receiving food is never conditional on agreeing to a photograph, a story, or any public recognition.

Photographs at events. We sometimes photograph packing days and community events. We ask for your consent in writing before using your name or likeness, you may decline, and you may change your mind later.

Other people’s privacy.Please do not post or share another person’s personal information — including any information about a household receiving assistance — without that person’s consent.

12. Intellectual Property

The Services and all content made available through them — including text, graphics, photographs, illustrations, logos, page layouts, software, and audiovisual content, and the “HungerPods” name — are owned by HungerPods Foundation or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access the Site for personal, non-commercial use. You may not reproduce, reverse-engineer, distribute, or create derivative works without our prior written consent.

13. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Services infringes your copyright, please send a notice containing the information required by 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3) to:

14. Third-Party Services and Links

The Services link to or work with third-party websites and services, including our payment processor, Stripe. Those third parties are independent of HungerPods, maintain their own terms and privacy practices, and we are not responsible for their content or conduct.

15. No Professional Advice

Content available through the Services — including information about tax benefits, deduction examples, estimated tax savings, sample receipts, and links to IRS resources — is provided for general educational purposes only. It is not tax, legal, accounting, financial, medical, or nutrition advice. Please consult your own qualified professional advisor.

16. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT AND MATERIALS PROVIDED THROUGH THEM ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

17. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AND SUBJECT TO THE EXCEPTIONS BELOW:

(A) HUNGERPODS FOUNDATION AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, AGENTS, AND PARTNERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES; AND

(B) THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF HUNGERPODS FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU DONATED TO HUNGERPODS IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100).

EXCEPTIONS. NOTHING IN THIS SECTION LIMITS OR EXCLUDES LIABILITY FOR: (i) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY; (ii) GROSS NEGLIGENCE; (iii) FRAUD, WILLFUL INJURY, OR INTENTIONAL MISCONDUCT; (iv) VIOLATION OF LAW; OR (v) ANY OTHER LIABILITY THAT CANNOT LAWFULLY BE LIMITED OR EXCLUDED UNDER CALIFORNIA LAW.

18. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless HungerPods Foundation and its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses — including reasonable attorneys’ fees — arising out of your violation of these Terms, your misuse of the Services, your submissions, your commercial exploitation of donated food or assistance, or any false or misleading information you provide to us.

This section does not apply to any individual in their capacity as a person requesting or receiving food assistance from HungerPods.

19. Suspension and Termination

You may stop using the Services at any time. We may suspend, limit, or terminate your access to all or part of the Services if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms or applicable law. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive.

20. Governing Law, Disputes, and Venue

Talk to us first. Before filing any claim, please contact us at hello@hungerpods.org or +1 (949) 969-8390. Both parties agree to attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally for at least thirty (30) days.

Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California and applicable U.S. federal law, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.

Venue. The state and federal courts located in Orange County, California have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising out of these Terms or the Services.

Time to bring claims. Any claim must be filed within one (1) year after it accrues, or it is permanently barred. This limitation does not apply to claims for death or personal injury, or to any claim for which a shortened period is not permitted by law.

21. Changes to the Services or These Terms

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time. We may also update these Terms. When we do, we will post the updated Terms on the Site with a new “Last Updated” date and, for material changes, provide additional reasonable notice. Your continued use of the Services after updated Terms take effect constitutes acceptance.

22. General

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the Donation and Refund Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and HungerPods regarding the Services.

Severability and no waiver. If any provision is held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent.

Force majeure. We are not liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control.

Electronic communications. You consent to receive communications from us electronically.

Notices. Legal notices should be sent to HungerPods Foundation, 1 Technology Drive, Building J, Suite 703, Irvine, CA 92618, with a copy by email to hello@hungerpods.org.

23. Notice to California Residents

Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, California users are entitled to the following notice. The Services are provided by HungerPods Foundation, 1 Technology Drive, Building J, Suite 703, Irvine, CA 92618; hello@hungerpods.org; +1 (949) 969-8390. If you have a complaint, you may also contact the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (800) 952-5210.

24. Contact Us

• Email: hello@hungerpods.org
• Phone: +1 (949) 969-8390
• Address: HungerPods Foundation, 1 Technology Drive, Building J, Suite 703, Irvine, CA 92618
• EIN: 41-5379406

We aim to respond to all inquiries within two (2) business days.