Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Ripe Route (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service. These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Ripe Route LLC, a North Carolinalimited liability company ("Ripe Route," "we," "us," or "our").

By creating an account or using the Service, you represent that you are at least 13 years of age. If you are under 18, you represent that a parent or legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to these Terms on your behalf.

2. Description of Service

Ripe Route is a web application that helps users discover seasonal produce, find recipes featuring in-season ingredients, and locate nearby farmers markets, CSAs, and farm stands. The Service includes both free and paid subscription features.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time with or without notice. We will not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

3. User Accounts

To access certain features, you must create an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete registration information.
• Promptly update your information to keep it accurate and current.
• Notify us immediately at privacy@riperoute.com of any unauthorized use of your account.
• Not share your account credentials with any third party.
• Not create more than one account per person.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that we reasonably believe have been compromised.

4. Founding Member Program and Paid Subscriptions

Ripe Route offers a Founding Member tier available to the first 100 eligible users who subscribe at the founding price. By enrolling in the Founding Member program or any paid subscription, you agree to the following:

• Billing. Subscription fees are billed on a recurring basis (annual or monthly, depending on your selected plan) via Stripe. You authorize us to charge your payment method on file for all fees incurred.
• Founding Member Price Lock. Founding Members who maintain an active subscription retain their founding price for as long as the subscription remains active and uninterrupted. Canceling and resubscribing after the Founding Member tier closes forfeits the locked price.
• Cancellation. You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. We do not issue prorated refunds for partial billing periods, except where required by applicable law.
• Refunds. All subscription fees are non-refundable except as expressly stated in these Terms or required by law. If you believe you were charged in error, contact us at privacy@riperoute.com within 30 days of the charge.
• Price Changes.We may change subscription pricing with at least 30 days' advance notice to your registered email address. Continued use of the Service after the price change takes effect constitutes your acceptance of the new price. Founding Members are exempt from price changes as described above.
• Failed Payments. If a payment fails, we will attempt to notify you and retry the charge. After reasonable attempts, we may downgrade or suspend your account until payment is resolved.

5. Free Tier

Certain features of the Service are available without a paid subscription. We reserve the right to change, limit, or discontinue free tier features at any time. We will provide reasonable notice of material changes where practicable.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable federal, state, or local law or regulation.
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access the Service without our prior written permission.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any portion of the Service.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service or its underlying infrastructure.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or network associated with the Service.
• Use the Service for any unlawful, harmful, or fraudulent purpose.
• Transmit any material that is defamatory, obscene, threatening, or invasive of another person's privacy.

Violation of these rules may result in immediate account termination without refund.

7. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with third-party providers including Stripe (payment processing), Amazon Web Services (infrastructure), Spoonacular (recipe data), Resend (email delivery), and PostHog (analytics). Your use of the Service is subject to those providers' applicable terms and policies. We are not responsible for the practices, availability, or content of third-party services.

Farmers market and produce data is sourced in part from the USDA and other public datasets. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of this information. Market hours, availability, and vendor participation are subject to change without notice. Always verify with the individual market or vendor before visiting.

8. Intellectual Property

The Service and its original content, features, and functionality — including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, and software — are and will remain the exclusive property of Ripe Route LLC. Our trademarks and trade dress may not be used in connection with any product or service without prior written consent.

Recipe data displayed through the Service may be sourced from or generated via Spoonacular and is subject to Spoonacular's licensing terms. Nothing in these Terms grants you any rights in Spoonacular's content.

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

PRODUCE SEASONALITY DATA, RECIPE INFORMATION, AND FARMERS MARKET DETAILS ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY SUCH DATA. ALWAYS EXERCISE YOUR OWN JUDGMENT REGARDING FOOD SAFETY, ALLERGENS, AND DIETARY SUITABILITY.

10. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, RIPE ROUTE LLC AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

11. Termination

You may delete your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at privacy@riperoute.com. Upon deletion, your personal data will be removed in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. Upon termination for cause, any active paid subscription will be cancelled without refund. Upon termination without cause, we will provide a prorated refund of any prepaid subscription fees for the unused portion of your current billing period.

Sections 8, 9, 10, 12, and 13 of these Terms survive termination.

12. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service ("Dispute") shall be resolved exclusively through binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, except as otherwise provided below.

Informal Resolution First. Before initiating arbitration, you agree to contact us at privacy@riperoute.com with a written description of your Dispute and the relief you seek. We will try to resolve the Dispute informally within 30 days. If we cannot, either party may then initiate arbitration.

Arbitration Procedure. The arbitration will be conducted in North Carolina or, at your election, via telephone or videoconference. The arbitrator will apply North Carolinalaw consistent with the Federal Arbitration Act. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Exceptions. Either party may bring claims in small claims court if the claim qualifies. Either party may seek emergency injunctive or equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent irreparable harm pending the completion of arbitration.

Opt-Out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending written notice to privacy@riperoute.com within 30 days of first creating your account. Your notice must include your name, email address, and a statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. If you opt out, Disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in North Carolina as described in Section 14.

13. Class Action Waiver

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU AND RIPE ROUTE LLC AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. If a court finds this waiver unenforceable as to a particular claim, then only that claim may proceed as part of a class action; all remaining claims shall remain subject to individual arbitration.

14. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of North Carolina, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. To the extent any claim is not subject to arbitration under Section 12, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Wake County, North Carolina.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will notify you by email to your registered address at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of updated Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

16. General Provisions

Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Ripe Route LLC regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms or any rights hereunder without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.

17. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, please contact us at: