Food Shortages Persist as UNFI Recovers from Cyberattack

United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), a major food distribution company, has stated it is making "significant progress" in recovering from a cyberattack that occurred nearly two weeks ago. Grocery stores across North America that rely on the company are reporting ongoing food shortages.

In an update released Sunday, UNFI said it is in the process of restoring its electronic ordering system, which is used by clients to place grocery and supermarket orders.

The company, which supplies over 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada with fresh produce and other goods, was hit by a cyberattack on June 5 — a breach it disclosed several days after it occurred.

UNFI has not yet revealed the nature of the cyberattack but had informed investors last week that it shut down its entire network to contain the incident. This ongoing outage has severely hampered its ability to fulfill and deliver customer orders at scale.

One of the most heavily impacted retailers is Whole Foods, which relies on UNFI as its "primary distributor." Due to the disruption, multiple Whole Foods locations — including one in the New York area — have faced empty shelves. A Whole Foods employee in California also confirmed supply issues at their store, saying certain products haven’t arrived in days.

While Whole Foods previously stated it is working to restock shelves "as quickly as possible," it has not provided a timeline for when shipments will return to normal.

Employees at both local grocery stores and national supermarket chains have reported varying degrees of disruption. Some said alternative distributors have stepped in with limited supplies, while others continue to face challenges receiving goods from UNFI.

The cyberattack has also affected commissary stores operated by the U.S. Department of Defense for active-duty military personnel and retired veterans. An employee at one such store noted empty shelves and shipment delays.

Kevin Robinson, spokesperson for the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA), confirmed that dozens of its stores were affected by the UNFI cyberattack.

"This incident has disrupted deliveries to multiple grocery chains, including 53 DeCA commissary stores," Robinson said. "The DeCA supply chain team has worked with UNFI to implement manual processes that have helped minimize in-store disruptions."

As of now, UNFI has not provided a timeline for full recovery.

Have More Info on the UNFI Cyberattack?

If you are a corporate customer affected by the disruption or have more details about the incident, you can securely contact the reporter via Signal at: Zacketek.1337

This story was first published on June 16 and updated on June 17 with additional information from the U.S. Department of Defense.