If you're planning to hit the grocery store this weekend, prepare for a bit of disappointment, as many shelves may look strikingly empty.

The culprit behind this food supply disruption? A little-known but critical player in the grocery industry: United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI). Last week, the company detected "unauthorized activity" within its IT systems, prompting an immediate shutdown of its network, as reported during an earnings call by CEO Sandy Douglas.

This cyberattack has wreaked havoc on delivery schedules and disrupted stores' abilities to place orders. As a result, everything from milk to pasta at various retailers, including nationwide chains like Whole Foods and smaller family-owned shops, is facing stock shortages.

In a video message shared with customers, Douglas expressed hope to resume operations resembling pre-attack levels by Sunday, stating, "We never want to be the reason that you're out of stock on certain items." However, shoppers visiting Whole Foods locations in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday encountered shelves barren of breakfast cereals, pasta, and snacks, with similar situations witnessed in New York City.

Whole Foods staff responded to the empty aisles with signs apologizing for the inconvenience, indicating a temporary shortage of certain products as the chain works to remedy the situation.

Grocery stores are scrambling to fill their shelves amidst rising demand for staple items. Smaller markets are also struggling to cope and are hastily searching for alternative suppliers to meet customer needs.

Linda Gommel, CEO of Lucerne Valley Market & Hardware in Southern California, noticed issues escalating last Friday, as she lost access to crucial digital invoicing from UNFI. The situation worsened when she experienced complete delivery failures early this week.

Despite still having canned goods available, Gommel acknowledged that dairy products like cottage cheese are running low. In a bid to prevent a complete shortage of high-demand items, she has begun sourcing fresh meat from Sysco, a name more associated with restaurant supplies, and bottled water from local distributors.

Similar concerns are echoed across the industry. An employee at a co-op market in the Northeastern US shared frustrations over supply issues stemming from the UNFI outage. With their store lacking bulky paper goods, they reported that UNFI would be limiting shipments to just 50 top-selling products this week, a stark deviation from the normal practice of customized orders.

As the situation develops, it's unclear how long the supply disruptions will last. Many in the grocery business are hoping for a return to normalcy by week's end, but uncertainty lingers for shoppers everywhere.

In the meantime, keep an eye on your local stores, as the ripple effects of this cyberattack continue to unfold, leading to potential shortages that could impact your weekend shopping plans.