Skip to content
UNFI, Better food, Better future home

50 Years of Better

UNFI’s 50th anniversary marks a year of gratitude for the retailers, suppliers, and associates who have long partnered together to bring better food to more communities.



Watch the Story of UNFI

A Shared Passion for Better Food

At UNFI, we’re guided by a simple purpose: to bring better food to more people, and in turn, to create a better future for the businesses and communities we serve. This purpose honors our heritage and our opportunity.

Image of Micheal Funk - UNFI Co-Founder and Board Member

The Story of UNFI

From a Volkswagen van to a national network of 25,000 associates, our history has been shaped by a belief in becoming better every day. Hear UNFI Co-Founder Michael Funk bring our 50-year journey to life—one chapter at a time.

Watch the series


The History of UNFI

This is a carousel. Use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate.

Growing Alongside the Retailers and Suppliers We Serve

For 50 years, we’ve grown alongside the food retail industry, listening to customer needs, developing solutions, and helping suppliers and retailers bring higher-quality food to more communities across North America. Together, we’ve supported local entrepreneurs and strengthened regional food systems, while advancing industry initiatives such as product transparency and labeling.

Supporting Our Partners' Growth

Today, UNFI has evolved into a company that delivers even more than better food. We strive to create a better future by bringing our partners better products, programs, and services – designed to support their growth. Looking ahead, we’ll continue to listen, learn, and innovate to help our partners build a retail food industry that is better for all.

Bringing partners high-quality products that meet evolving customer needs.

Offering programs and insights that support strategic growth.

Delivering services designed to help partners operate effectively and efficiently.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate.

TestimonialsPartner Spotlights

"The UNFI grant is going to really allow us to take something we've been working on for years and finally bring it to life."

Brandon Guinn Founder and Executive Director

"UNFI has all the wonderful channel elements for gaining scale and technology. It paired very well with us being deeply involved in the organic movement and together we're able to take our products across the country."

Chris Witham Senior Director, U.S. Sales, Nature's Path

“We have a great partnership with UNFI. Even though we emphasize local products, we have a strong partnership with UNFI because they support our commitment to local, natural, and organic foods.”

Brian Munn President and General Manager, Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op

"We're big in rice, but not big in grocery. Being able to partner with UNFI and have you connect us with more retailers is so important. Thank you to UNFI for the long standing partnership and the amazing business that we have together."

Craig Stevenson CEO, Lundberg Family Farms

"This [UNFI Foundation] grant will allow us to keep our trucks out there rescuing food for two months and also help us provide 110,000 meals to the community."

Carly Bragg Director of Operations, Food Finders

A U.S. map highlighting selected states in blue to show locations associated with the UNFI Foundation’s ‘50 for Fifty’ initiative. Blue states include Washington, Oregon, California, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Investing in the Future of Community Food Access

As we celebrate 50 years of delivering better food, the UNFI Foundation is marking the milestone by investing in communities across North America.

Through it’s first-ever “50 for 50” initiative, the UNFI Foundation will award 50 grants to nonprofit organizations covering all 50 U.S. states. Over the course of 2026, the Foundation plans to invest $2 million to programs that help strengthen local food systems across North America.

Learn more about 50 for 50

Still have questions?

View FAQ

Let's work together

Retailer Partnership Opens in new window

Become a supplier

Supplier Partnership

Better Food.
Better Future.