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): March 18, 2004

                           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 March 18, 2004, announcing
                             a two-for-one split of the Company's common stock.

Item 9. Regulation FD Disclosure

      On March 18, 2004, the Company issued a press release announcing a
two-for-one split of its common stock. 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: March 18, 2004

                                  EXHIBIT INDEX

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

     99.1         Press Release, dated March 18, 2004, announcing a two-for-one
                  split of the Company's common stock.

EX-99.1

                    [UNITED NATURAL FOODS, INC. LETTERHEAD]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 18, 2004

                         UNITED NATURAL FOODS ANNOUNCES
                        TWO-FOR-ONE SPLIT OF COMMON STOCK

Dayville, Connecticut - March 18, 2004 -- United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq:
UNFI), today announced that its Board of Directors approved a two-for-one split
of the Company's common stock that will be payable in the form of a stock
dividend. Stockholders will receive one additional share of the Company's common
stock for each share of common stock held on the record date of March 29, 2004.
The additional shares will be delivered on or about April 19, 2004 by the
Company's transfer agent, Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

As of March 17, 2004, the Company had approximately 19.8 million shares of
common stock outstanding. Following payment of the dividend, this number will
increase to approximately 39.6 million. The market price for the Company's
common stock, as reported by the Nasdaq National Market, will reflect the stock
split beginning on April 20, 2004.

"We are pleased to announce our first stock split as a public company, which
creates an opportunity to broaden our shareholder base and increase the
availability of our common stock for trading," said Steven Townsend, Chief
Executive Officer of United Natural Foods. "We have experienced solid growth
over the last few years and believe our focused business strategy, combined with
our position as America's premier Natural and Certified Organic distributor,
provides the foundation for delivering continuous, long-term value for our
stockholders."

About United Natural Foods

United Natural Foods, Inc. carries and distributes over 32,000 products to more
than 14,000 customers nationwide. The Company serves a wide variety of retail
formats including conventional supermarket chains, natural product superstores,
independent retail operators and the food service channel. For more information
on United Natural Foods, Inc., visit the Company's web-site at www.unfi.com.

AT THE COMPANY:             FINANCIAL RELATIONS BOARD:
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 the Company's business that 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 the Company's dependence on principal customers, see "Risk
Factors" in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 16, 2004, 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. The Company is not
undertaking to update any information in the foregoing reports until the
effective date of its future reports required by applicable laws. Any
projections of future results of operations should not be construed in any
manner as a guarantee that such results will in fact occur. These projections
are subject to change and could differ materially from final reported results.
The Company may from time to time update these publicly announced projections,
but it is not obligated to do so.