UNFI Cyberattack Disrupts Grocery Supply Chains, Forcing Retailers to Seek Alternatives United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a major grocery wholesaler, remains offline following a cyberattack on June 6 that forced the company to shut down its electronic ordering systems. With no timeline for full restoration, UNFI is relying on manual processes to fulfill orders, leaving many retailers scrambling to secure alternative suppliers. Independent grocers and co-ops that depend on UNFI for organic and specialty products have faced significant disruptions. Darlings Grocery in La Pointe, Wisconsin, which sources about two-thirds of its inventory from UNFI, turned to Minnesota-based Mason Brothers and foodservice distributor Sysco to restock shelves but with limited success. Co-owner Gilpin Matthews noted that the lack of advance notice left stores with empty shelves, risking customer loss. Similarly, Orcas Food Co-op in Washington state, while less reliant on a single supplier, had to pivot to local vendors to maintain inventory. Larger chains also felt the impact. Whole Foods Market, UNFI’s most prominent customer, experienced delivery delays, though a spokesperson declined to comment on the extent of the disruption. Meanwhile, Charley Family Shop ‘n Save in Pennsylvania mitigated shortages by partnering with North Carolina-based MDI and local suppliers, while LaBonne’s Markets in Connecticut faced temporary stockouts of UNFI-sourced items but managed to place an order over the weekend. UNFI stated it has made "significant progress" in restoring systems but has not provided a recovery timeline. The company confirmed that Cub Pharmacy locations, which also experienced prescription fulfillment issues, have resumed normal operations. The incident underscores the vulnerability of supply chains to cyber threats, particularly for retailers dependent on a single distributor.

A major U.S. food distributor, C&S Wholesale Grocers, which supplies thousands of grocery retailers (including Whole Foods), suffered a cybersecurity incident that disrupted its IT network on June 5. The company detected unauthorized access, proactively shut down affected systems, and engaged third-party cybersecurity experts and law enforcement. While manual workarounds were implemented to sustain order processing, the attack caused operational disruptions, leading to empty shelves in retail locations over the weekend. The incident highlighted vulnerabilities in critical supply chains, with potential downstream consequences for grocery distribution. The attack’s nature (ransomware or data theft) remains unconfirmed, but its impact aligns with strategic disruption tactics—targeting essential services to create ripple effects across sectors. The prolonged outage threatened the company’s ability to fulfill orders, risking financial losses, reputational damage, and supply chain instability. Experts suggest such attacks may be state-sponsored or criminally motivated, exploiting ransomware for asymmetric warfare—disrupting infrastructure without direct attribution. Recovery timelines are unclear, but the incident underscores the growing threat to food supply chains and critical logistics.

The Maine Office of the Attorney General reported that C&S Wholesale Grocers, LLC experienced a data breach involving inadvertent disclosure on January 18, 2025, affecting a total of 60 individuals, including 1 resident of Maine. The breach occurred due to an accidental mailing of W2 forms containing personal information to the wrong individuals, with identity theft protection services offered through IDX.