8-K

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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549


                                    FORM 8-K


                                 CURRENT REPORT

                     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934


         Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): July 7, 2003



                           UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)



           Delaware                      000-21531               05-0376157
 (State or Other Jurisdiction    (Commission File Number)       (IRS Employer
      of Incorporation)                                      Identification No.)


                                  260 Lake Road
                               Dayville, CT 06241
               (Address of Principal Executive Offices) (Zip Code)


                                 (860) 779-2800
              (Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)


                                 Not Applicable
          (Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)


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Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits

(a) Financial Statements of Businesses Acquired: Not Applicable

(b) Pro Forma Financial Information: Not Applicable

(c) Exhibits.

              Exhibit No.     Description
              -----------     -----------

                 99.1         Press Release, dated July 7, 2003,
                              announcing the Company's earnings estimates
                              for its fiscal year ending July 31, 2004.

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure

       On July 7, 2003, the Company issued a press release announcing its
earnings estimates for its fiscal year ending July 31, 2004. A copy of this
press release is attached as an exhibit to this Form 8-K.


                                   SIGNATURES

      Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

                                         UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC.


                                         By: /s/ Rick D. Puckett
                                             ----------------------------
                                             Rick D. Puckett
                                             Vice President, Treasurer and Chief
                                             Financial Officer

                                         Date:  July 14, 2003


                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

  Exhibit No.     Description
  -----------     -----------

     99.1         Press Release, dated July 7, 2003, announcing the Company's
                  earnings estimates for its fiscal year ending July 31, 2004.

EX-99.1

                     [UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. LETTERHEAD]

              UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. PROVIDES OUTLOOK FOR 2004


Dayville, Connecticut - July 7, 2003 -- United Natural Foods, Inc., (Nasdaq:
UNFI) announced today that it anticipates revenues, for the fiscal year ending
July 31, 2004, in the range of $1.55 billion to $1.57 billion, representing
growth of approximately 15% over fiscal year 2003. The Company also noted that
gross margin is expected to be in the high 19% to low 20% range. The gross
profit figures reflect the impact of the adoption of the Financial Accounting
Standards Board's Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 02-16, "Accounting by a
Customer (Including a Reseller) for Certain Consideration Received from a
Vendor," which requires the reclassification of advertising income to cost of
goods sold from operating expenses. The adoption of this pronouncement will have
no impact on operating income, net income or earnings per share in fiscal year
2003 or fiscal year 2004.

The Company expects earnings per diluted share, excluding potential special
items, in the range of $1.42 - $1.46 per share. This guidance reflects the
impact of compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which is
expected to negatively impact fiscal 2004 earnings by approximately $0.02 per
share. Special items may include non-cash expense related to the change in fair
value of interest rate swaps and related option agreements caused by unfavorable
changes in yield curves, and labor, moving and other costs related to the
expansion of the Company's Iowa City, Iowa, Dayville, Connecticut and
Bridgeport, New Jersey distribution facilities. A description of the Company's
use of non-GAAP information is provided under "Non-GAAP Results" below.

Steven Townsend, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "With the
acquisition and ongoing integration of Blooming Prairie and Northeast
Cooperatives and the recent completion of our Chesterfield, New Hampshire
expansion we remain well positioned to capitalize on the growing market for
natural products. Looking forward into fiscal 2004, we will continue to pursue a
broad range of internal and external growth strategies. Central to this focus is
an emphasis on maximizing profitability, expanding our customer base and
increasing our penetration with existing accounts. Furthermore, our fiscal 2004
plan includes taking advantage of historically low interest rates by scheduling
several capital projects that were originally planned for fiscal 2005.
Therefore, we expect capital expenditures for fiscal 2004 to range from $24
million to $28 million."

      a)    About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 30,500 products to more
than 11,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of retail
formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores
and independent retail operators.

For more information on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's web site
at www.unfi.com.



AT THE COMPANY:               AT FRB/WEBER SHANDWICK:
Rick D. Puckett               Joseph Calabrese        Vanessa Schwartz
Chief Financial Officer       General Information     Analyst Information
(860) 779-2800                (212) 445-8434          (212) 445-8433

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Statements in this press release regarding United Natural's business which
are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and
uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could
cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking
statements, including but not limited to general business conditions, the impact
of competition and our dependence on principal customers, see "Risk Factors" in
the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Commission on June
16, 2003, and its other filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. Any forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and, as such, speak only as of the date
made. United Natural is not undertaking to update any information in the
foregoing reports until the effective date of its future reports required by
applicable laws.

Non-GAAP Results: To supplement its financial statements presented on a GAAP
basis, the Company uses non-GAAP additional measures of operating results, net
earnings and earnings per share adjusted to exclude special charges. The Company
believes that the use of these additional measures is appropriate to enhance an
overall understanding of its past financial performance and also its prospects
for the future as these special charges are not expected to be part of the
Company's ongoing business. The adjustments to the Company's GAAP results are
made with the intent of providing both management and investors with a more
complete understanding of the underlying operational results and trends and its
marketplace performance. For example, these adjusted non-GAAP results are among
the primary indicators management uses as a basis for its planning and
forecasting of future periods. The presentation of this additional information
is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for net earnings
or diluted earnings per share prepared in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles in the United States.