Fourteen Foods, a company headquartered in Franklin, Tennessee, has notified regulators of a data security incident in which an unauthorized third party copied files from its network. The company says the files included names and Social Security numbers.
Fourteen Foods’s Data Breach Investigation
Fourteen Foods is located at 1431 Perrone Way in Franklin, Tennessee. According to a notice its law firm sent to the New Hampshire Attorney General on October 22, 2026, the company was alerted to suspicious activity in its environment on or about February 23, 2026. It says it responded by isolating relevant systems and starting an investigation to understand the nature and scope of the activity.
The investigation concluded that an unauthorized third party accessed the company’s environment between February 19, 2026, and February 25, 2026, and copied certain files from its network. Fourteen Foods then reviewed those files to work out what personal information they contained and whom it belonged to. It says it finished that review, and its work to identify mailing addresses for notices, on September 10, 2026.
The company reports that the information that could have been accessed includes names and Social Security numbers. The filing does not say how the unauthorized party got into the network, does not name a group responsible, and does not state whether the affected people are employees, applicants, customers or others. It also does not give a total number of people affected.
State filings reveal only part of the picture. The New Hampshire notice says written notice went to 5 New Hampshire residents on or about October 22, 2026, and the sample letter filed with it indicates that approximately 1 Rhode Island resident may be affected. Each state publishes only the figure for its own residents, so these numbers should not be read as the total for the incident.
Fourteen Foods says it notified federal law enforcement, is working to put additional safeguards and training in place for its employees, and is notifying state regulators and the three major credit reporting agencies as required. It is offering 12 months of credit monitoring and identity theft protection through Experian at no cost to people whose information was potentially affected. According to the sample letter, people must enroll themselves by January 29, 2027, using an activation code in their notice, because the company is not permitted to enroll them.
The time between the incident and the notices is worth noting. The unauthorized access ended in February 2026, but the review of the copied files was not complete until September 10, 2026, and notices to individuals were dated October 22, 2026, roughly eight months after the company first learned of the problem. State laws set deadlines for notifying people once an organization determines that personal information was involved, and a long file review can mean that people do not learn about an exposure until well after it happened.
A name paired with a Social Security number is among the most sensitive combinations of personal data. Criminals can use it to open credit accounts, apply for loans, file false tax returns, or build convincing impersonation attempts. Unlike a password, a Social Security number cannot easily be changed, so the risk from an exposure may last for years. That is why people who receive a notice are encouraged to take up any monitoring offered, review their credit reports, and consider a credit freeze.
Businesses that employ large workforces or operate many locations keep human resources and payroll files that hold Social Security numbers for many people, and those files are a common target when an attacker gets into a corporate network. Copying files without locking systems is a familiar tactic, because the stolen data can then be used for extortion or sold, even if day to day operations continue without interruption.
Attorneys are looking into whether Fourteen Foods maintained reasonable safeguards for the sensitive information it held, including how it stored files containing Social Security numbers, how it controlled and monitored access to its network, and whether stronger protections could have prevented or limited the exposure. If you received a letter from Fourteen Foods, keep it, because it contains your enrollment code and the deadline for the credit monitoring offer.
When Did This Breach Occur?
The company says it was alerted to suspicious activity on or about February 23, 2026, and that an unauthorized third party accessed its environment between February 19, 2026, and February 25, 2026. It completed its review of the affected files on September 10, 2026, and mailed notices on or about October 22, 2026, the same day its notice reached the New Hampshire Attorney General. The credit monitoring enrollment deadline stated in the sample letter is January 29, 2027.
What Information Was Breached?
Fourteen Foods reports that the files copied from its network contained names and Social Security numbers. The notice does not identify any other categories of information, and the sample letter filed with regulators leaves the specific data elements for each person as a fill-in field. The company has said it is not aware of attempted identity theft or financial fraud connected to this incident. It has not published a total number of people affected.
What You Can Do
If you received a notice related to Fourteen Foods or believe you may be affected, consider these steps:
- Read the notice carefully and keep it, along with any enrollment details for protection services it offers.
- Enroll in the 12 months of Experian credit monitoring offered in your notice before the January 29, 2027 deadline, since the company cannot enroll you itself.
- Place a free fraud alert or a credit freeze with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, and get your reports free at annualcreditreport.com.
- Review bank, card and insurance statements for anything you do not recognize.
- Be skeptical of unexpected calls, texts or emails that mention the incident, and report suspected identity theft to the Federal Trade Commission at identitytheft.gov.
File a Data Breach Lawsuit Against Fourteen Foods
If you received a notice from Fourteen Foods, or believe your name and Social Security number were among the files copied, you may have legal options for holding the company accountable for how it protected your sensitive information.
Contact us at Class Action U, where we’ll connect you with a lawyer skilled in class action lawsuits. If you’ve been contacted about this breach, received notice, or discovered you were impacted, fill out our quick, easy, and secure form to sign up. There is no cost to reach out to our legal partner and no obligation after speaking with someone from our team.