Binary code displayed on a laptop screen and Guy Fawkes mask are seen in this illustration photo taken in Krakow, Poland on March 1, 2022. Global hacker group Anonymous declared 'cyber war' against Russia. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
San Diego, California – Shoppers across the U.S., including in San Diego, are encountering increasingly empty shelves at Whole Foods stores due to a cyberattack that disrupted the operations of the country’s largest organic food distributor. United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI), a Rhode Island-based supplier that services Whole Foods and numerous other retailers, disclosed in a federal filing that it was the target of a cybersecurity incident that has significantly hindered its ability to process and fulfill orders.
The company reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it became aware of the attack on June 5. In response, UNFI took portions of its internal systems offline, a move that has since caused major delays in the distribution of products. At Whole Foods stores in San Diego’s Hillcrest neighborhood and elsewhere, shoppers have found empty fridges, freezers, and shelving units. Signs posted in stores described the disruptions as a “temporary out of stock issue” and assured customers that the items would return soon.
The outages come at a time when Whole Foods and its parent company, Amazon, are increasingly reliant on UNFI, which signed an eight-year contract extension last year to remain the grocer’s primary distributor. UNFI also supplies a range of independent and regional grocers, which are now dealing with similar product shortages.
Although the company has begun gradually restoring some systems, there is no clear timeline for when distribution will return to normal. UNFI has not released detailed information about the nature of the cyberattack, citing the ongoing nature of the situation. However, internal disruptions appear to be significantly affecting store operations across the country.
In some locations, store departments have temporarily closed due to missing key supplies. In North Carolina, one Whole Foods reportedly shut down its sandwich station after receiving no bread deliveries. Elsewhere, staff have reported unbalanced shipments, with excesses of certain products and none of others, suggesting widespread failures in inventory and logistics communication.
The ripple effects have reached smaller grocers as well. In Bellingham, Washington, the Community Food Co-Op warned customers of lightly stocked aisles. Even third-party logistics companies are feeling the pressure. Trucking firm C.R. England reported delays in refrigerated food deliveries due to UNFI’s system failure, with multiple drivers left idle and waiting.
