Privacy Policy

This policy was last updated: 12/01/2026

Date to be reviewed: 12/01/2027

Privacy Notice for People Referred to Foodbanks  

 1. Who we are

KCU Ltd is responsible for looking after your personal information. This means we are the data controller.

Organisation: KCU Ltd

Registered address: 51 Gold Street, Kettering, NN16 8JB

ICO registration number: ZB011021

Data protection contacts: Sylvia McLevy

Telephone: 01536 481989

Email: Sylvia.Mclevy@kcultd.org.uk

If you have any questions about this notice or how we use your information, please contact us using the details above.

2. What personal data we collect

When you come to the foodbank for help, we collect and store some personal information about you. This includes:

  • Your name, address, and year of birth

  • Information about your household, such as the number of adults and children

  • The reason you were referred to the foodbank

  • Details of the organisation or professional who referred you

  • Where you choose to provide them, your phone number and any dietary requirements

 The organisation that referred you may also ask about your ethnicity. This information helps us understand whether we are meeting the needs of different communities.

Providing ethnicity information is optional and will not affect the help you receive. This information is treated as special category personal data and is only collected with your explicit consent. Once you collect your food parcel, this information is anonymised so it can no longer be linked to you.

 

3. How we use your information

We only collect information that we genuinely need. Your personal data is used to:

  1. Provide you with the food and support you have asked for

  2. Understand and report on why people need foodbank support and what help is provided

  3. Identify whether you may benefit from additional support (for example, help with maximising income)

Where appropriate, we may offer further support directly or, with your consent, refer you to another organisation that can help.

 

4. Lawful basis for using your data

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using your personal information.

  • Our main lawful basis is legitimate interests, as we need to process your data to provide emergency food and support and to demonstrate the impact of our charitable work.

  • We have considered whether this processing is fair and proportionate and are satisfied that it does not override your rights and freedoms.

  • In some situations, we rely on consent, for example:

    • When you provide a phone number so we can contact you

    • When you provide ethnicity information (explicit consent)

    You can withdraw your consent at any time.

 

5. Who can see your information

Your personal information is only accessible to authorised people who need it for foodbank purposes.

 

  • Authorised volunteers and staff at KCU Ltd

  • If you attend another foodbank within the Trussell Trust Foodbank Network, authorised users at those foodbanks may see your information, including records of previous visits

  • Referring agencies using the e-referral system can see limited information, such as the date you last accessed help, but not detailed reasons or your full address unless they refer you again

 

6. The Trussell Trust

Your personal information is stored in a secure database managed by the Trussell Trust, which is a separate data controller.

Trussell Trust ICO registration number: Z279027X

The Trussell Trust uses your information for statistical, research, and monitoring purposes to support campaigning for a future where no one needs to use a foodbank. They use trusted suppliers and have appropriate contracts in place to keep your information safe.

More information can be found at:

https://www.trusselltrust.org/privacy

 

7. How long we keep your data

Your personal information is kept for six years from the date you last received a food parcel.

After six years, identifiable information such as your name and address is removed and the data is anonymised so it can no longer be linked to you. We keep anonymised data to understand long-term trends and to meet our legal and charitable accountability obligations.

 

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have the right to:

  • Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you

  • Ask us to correct information that is inaccurate or incomplete

  • Ask us to restrict processing or delete your personal data where there is no compelling reason to keep it

  • Receive your personal data in a usable format so you can pass it to another organisation

  • Object to processing where you believe it has an unfair or disproportionate impact on you

 

 

To exercise any of these rights, please contact:

Sylvia McLevy – 01536 481989

sylvia.mclevy@kcultd.org.uk

 

9. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal information, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):

Website: www.ico.org.uk

Telephone: 0303 123 1113