United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), the main company that supplies food and goods to Whole Foods Market, was hit by a cyberattack on June 5, 2025. This attack caused major problems in their computer systems, leading to delays in delivering important grocery and pharmacy items to stores across the country.
The company found out that something was wrong in its systems and quickly shut down parts of its network to stop the attack from spreading. They also called in cybersecurity experts to look into what happened and informed government authorities to help investigate.
Because of this attack, many Whole Foods stores and other supermarkets that depend on UNFI had trouble getting the items they ordered. Customers noticed empty shelves, especially in sections for fresh food, dairy products, frozen items, and baked goods. In some areas, pharmacies inside grocery stores were also affected, with delays in filling prescriptions because their systems weren’t working.
UNFI supplies over 30,000 store locations, making it one of the biggest food distributors in the country. The cyberattack caused delays not only at Whole Foods but also at many other grocery stores. Stores in Minnesota, for example, reported major slowdowns in pharmacy services.
On June 9, UNFI officially told investors and the public about the cyberattack through a report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This led to a drop of about 7% in UNFI’s stock price as people grew worried about how the company would recover and how much money might be lost.
So far, UNFI hasn’t said whether this was a ransomware attack, where hackers demand money to return access to the systems, or if any customer or company data was stolen. But experts think it looks similar to other big attacks done by well-known hacker groups, like Scattered Spider, who target companies in the supply chain industry.
Right now, UNFI is slowly bringing its systems back online and using manual processes to keep operations going as best they can. They plan to give more details about the attack and their progress during their quarterly financial report on June 10.
Cybersecurity experts are saying this is a wake-up call for the grocery and food distribution industry. It shows how a single cyberattack can affect the food people rely on every day. Because UNFI plays such a big role in food delivery, problems in its systems can quickly lead to shortages, delivery issues, and rising prices in stores across the country.
There is also growing concern about how well protected large food and retail companies really are. Many experts believe these businesses need stronger cybersecurity systems to prevent future attacks like this one.
