A cyberattack targeting United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI) has disrupted grocery supply chains across the upper midwest, particularly impacting rural and small-town stores in North Dakota. UNFI, a major food distributor supplying around 60 of the state’s 138 grocery stores, disclosed in a regulatory filing that it had shut down parts of its IT network after discovering unauthorized access on June 5. As the company works to restore its systems, many local stores are now facing shortages of milk, meat, produce, and shelf-stable items.
According to reporting from the North Dakota News Cooperative, the disruption has forced UNFI to rely on manual processes to fill orders, an inefficient workaround that is delaying shipments and risking spoilage of perishable goods. While larger retailers may weather the disruption due to volume and diversified supply options, smaller stores, often already struggling to stay afloat in the modern climate, are experiencing significant strain. Some grocery managers reported missed deliveries and uncertainty about when orders might resume, with some stores already running short on essential items.
UNFI stated that it is working with forensic and cybersecurity experts, and has notified law enforcement, but provided limited detail about the specific systems affected. The company supplies roughly 30,000 retail locations nationwide and maintains a long-term distribution agreement with Whole Foods. A similar cyberattack last year on Ahold Delhaize caused widespread disruptions to grocery operations in the U.S., raising further concerns about vulnerabilities in the food supply network.
Rural areas can be especially hard-hit, as they typically rely on single distributors and lack the infrastructure or financial flexibility to switch providers quickly. The breach has renewed attention to the fragility of food logistics in isolated regions, where even a temporary system failure can lead to prolonged access issues for residents and financial hardship for small grocers.
