United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), one of North America’s largest food distributors, says it is making steady progress toward recovering from a cyberattack that hit the company nearly two weeks ago. The incident has caused widespread disruption, leaving grocery stores across the U.S. and Canada struggling with supply shortages.
In an update shared over the weekend, UNFI confirmed that it is in the process of bringing its electronic ordering systems back online. These systems are critical for grocery stores and supermarkets that rely on UNFI to place and track orders. The company supplies fresh produce, packaged goods, and other items to over 30,000 retail locations across both countries.
The cyberattack occurred on June 5, although the company waited several days before disclosing the breach publicly. While UNFI has not revealed specific details about the nature of the attack, it did inform investors that it shut down its entire network as a precautionary measure to contain the incident. This shutdown has severely impacted the company’s ability to process and fulfill orders at its usual scale.
Among the hardest hit by the disruption is Whole Foods, which depends on UNFI as its primary supplier. Shoppers in various regions, including New York and California, have reported seeing empty shelves at Whole Foods locations. Employees have echoed these concerns, noting that certain items have been out of stock for several days. While Whole Foods has assured customers that it is working to restock its shelves as soon as possible, it has not provided a timeline for when normal deliveries might resume.
Other grocery chains and even military commissaries are feeling the effects. The Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), which supplies groceries to active-duty service members and veterans, reported that 53 of its stores have experienced delivery delays due to the UNFI outage. A DeCA spokesperson said the agency has been collaborating with UNFI on manual workarounds to minimize disruption as much as possible.
Despite efforts to restore operations, UNFI has yet to provide a clear estimate of when its services will return to full capacity. The situation continues to evolve as the company works to rebuild its systems and resume regular deliveries to its network of stores.
