Members of the Bay Area Small Merchants Chamber of Commerce, which includes Taleb and about 60 other store owners, said wholesale distributors are rationing the amount of non-perishable items in high demand they can purchase, such as instant noodles, rice, beans and flour.

Taleb used to purchase 80 cases of flour per week, he said, but he can only get three cases these days.

Most alarmingly to Taleb and his customers, is that prices have skyrocketed. An 18-pack of eggs now costs him $5.50, more than double what distributors charged a month ago, he said.

“It's very hard for us at this time when people are losing their jobs to charge that price,” said Taleb.

A regular at his market, Angeles Rocha said she has resorted to buying fewer groceries for her household and her 90-year-old mother, who lives near the store.

Rocha’s husband, a janitor, was recently furloughed with no pay. Rocha said she also lost her income from a childcare gig. The couple worries about how they’ll feed their three kids and pay the bills.

“We are not earning money. And with these prices, I don’t know what we’ll do,” she said.

One of Taleb’s wholesale distributors, Jetro Restaurant Depot, said manufacturers are charging higher prices and not sending enough supplies of coveted items, such as bottled water and gloves.

The company is limiting how much each customer can buy, to ensure there is enough to go around, said Richard Kirschner, Jetro’s president. As to the higher prices, he said that he is simply passing on the extra cost to grocery stores and other clients.

“We're not making a nickel more than we used to make. We don’t charge any more,” said Kirschner.