PROVIDENCE, R.I. — United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), the Providence-headquartered wholesale grocery giant, has taken its systems offline following a cybersecurity breach that’s causing widespread operational disruptions.
On June 5, UNFI discovered unauthorized activity within its IT systems. As a precaution, the company shut down portions of its network, temporarily halting its ability to fulfill and ship orders to its 15,000+ retail customers nationwide.
UNFI, which is traded publicly on the NYSE, said the incident is under active investigation and that third-party cybersecurity experts have been brought in. Law enforcement has also been notified.
While the full scope of the cyberattack is still being assessed, UNFI confirmed that temporary workarounds have been implemented to serve some customers. The company’s client list includes major chains and independent grocers across the U.S.—most notably Whole Foods Market, for which UNFI serves as the primary distributor under a renewed multi-year agreement.
With nearly 60 distribution centers nationwide and close to $30 billion in annual revenue, UNFI is one of the largest food distributors in the country. It remains unclear if any local Rhode Island operations or store deliveries have been directly affected.
UNFI said system restoration efforts are underway but did not offer a timeline for full recovery.
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