As food shortages continue to frustrate shoppers across North America, grocery distributor United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) says it’s slowly but steadily recovering from a cyberattack that disrupted its operations nearly two weeks ago.
In an update shared Sunday, UNFI said it’s making “significant progress” in bringing its systems back online — particularly its electronic ordering systems, which grocery stores and supermarkets rely on to restock shelves.
The company, which supplies fresh produce and grocery essentials to more than 30,000 stores in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by the cyberattack on June 5. While the nature of the attack remains undisclosed, UNFI previously told investors that it shut down its entire network in an attempt to contain the incident — a move that’s since disrupted its ability to process and deliver orders.
The ripple effect is being felt most visibly at Whole Foods, one of UNFI’s largest partners. Several of the chain’s stores, including locations visited by TechCrunch reporters in New York and California, are showing signs of strain, with product gaps across multiple aisles.
“We haven’t seen certain items for days,” one Whole Foods employee in California told TechCrunch.
The grocer acknowledged the issue last week, stating it was doing everything possible to restore stock levels, though it did not provide a timeline for when operations would return to normal.
Other retailers that rely on UNFI are facing a mixed bag. Some say they’re managing with alternate suppliers, while others are still grappling with serious ordering issues due to the outage.
For now, UNFI hasn’t given a clear ETA on when full service will resume, leaving grocery managers, store employees, and customers waiting and watching as the company tries to regain control.
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