Cyberattack on UNFI Disrupts Grocery Stores in Poweshiek County for Two Weeks

A cyberattack on a major North American food supplier caused serious problems for two grocery stores in Poweshiek County, Iowa, leaving shelves empty and customers frustrated for nearly two weeks.

On June 5, hackers targeted United Natural Foods Inc. (UNFI), a company that supplies groceries to around 30,000 stores across the U.S. and Canada. This forced UNFI to shut down its systems, halting deliveries to stores like McNally’s Foods in Grinnell and SuperValu Foods in Montezuma.

Julie Smith, owner of McNally’s in Grinnell, said she couldn’t place food orders or receive deliveries for two weeks. “It was like a nightmare,” she said. “You don’t have product for your customers.”

McNally’s is not just a grocery store—it also serves lunch and coffee. Loyal customers like Karen Ashby and Marlene Peak visit three times a week. They quickly noticed something was wrong. “Normally, we buy the bakeries, and that was almost always empty when we came in,” Ashby said.

Some customers were understanding and bought what was still in stock—even switching to different brands—but Smith said she still lost business. While Grinnell has other grocery options, Montezuma does not.

SuperValu is the only full grocery store in Montezuma. Without it, residents had to rely on two small convenience stores or travel to another town. “Things you normally pick up every day just weren’t there,” said Montezuma resident John Kercheval.

By last Thursday, both McNally’s and SuperValu were able to place manual orders through UNFI, but the process took twice as long as usual. Even now, food deliveries are limited, as UNFI works to support stores across the country.

Smith said the damage is done. “I’ve got employees and a business to take care of,” she said. “When we don’t have product, we lose customers, and that’s a big deal.”

In a statement, UNFI said:

“We’re receiving orders and delivering products across North America. We’ve made significant progress in restoring our electronic systems and increasing our capacity. Our customers, suppliers, and employees remain our top priority.”

However, the company did not say when things would fully return to normal.