Food Lion Website and App Disrupted as Parent Company Responds to Cybersecurity Incident

NORTH CAROLINA — Food Lion shoppers are encountering unavailable online services while parent company Ahold Delhaize responds to a cybersecurity incident affecting parts of its network. The grocery chain's website and mobile application have been disrupted, but the company says its physical stores remain open and serving customers.

Ahold Delhaize disclosed the security issue October 12 and said it took some systems offline as a precaution while investigating. In an October 13 update, the company said it had begun a controlled relaunch of certain systems and was working with external cybersecurity specialists and appropriate authorities. It did not identify the cause of the incident or provide a full restoration schedule.

Food Lion customers who normally use the company's own online ordering services may need alternatives. Local reporting says delivery orders can still be placed through Instacart, DoorDash and Uber Eats. The grocer said unfulfilled orders placed through its own website or app would be refunded. Customers needing prescription assistance were directed to contact their local Food Lion pharmacy.

The parent company said it had no evidence at the time of its Tuesday update that customer or employee data had been taken. That statement is a description of what the investigation had established so far, not a final determination that no data exposure occurred. Ahold Delhaize said it was withholding some details while security work continued.

For the Triad, the outage matters because Food Lion has a substantial grocery presence and online ordering is a routine service for many households. Store availability and digital ordering are separate issues: shoppers should not assume a nearby store is closed because an app fails to load.

Customers should use official company updates for restoration information and be cautious of unexpected messages claiming to offer account recovery or refunds. The company has not provided a confirmed date for all affected digital services to return.