For some businesses, the coronavirus crisis has actually called for the hiring of more employees.
Among those companies is Santa Barbara's Tri-County Produce.
"We have not been overwhelmed - had too many customers at one time - but we have had a consistent flow of customers all day long for the past twelve days," says owner John Dixon.
Dixon says he's increased work hours, and added more staff than he's ever added in one week.
Some of those workers have come from other grocery stores, with some even hired on the spot.
"We hired 12 people in two days, and we'll probably be hiring several more if this busyness continues," Dixon says.
The small store, like others on the South Coast, have buying power as a result of their decades of business.
"We stock up on plenty of water, we have rice, pinto beans and bulk foods, flour," Dixon says. "We've been getting those in every day."
Some items have purchase limits, and customers are being told to maintain proper social distancing spacing.
