Prepare yourselves… for a lack of pepperoni.

According to Bloomberg, the latest food shortage to strike during the pandemic is affecting small pizza shops around the United States.

Restaurants have been experiencing higher prices from pepperoni suppliers, and in some cases, the cost has risen by nearly double, the report concluded.

Furthermore, the demand for pepperoni has been highly outweighing the supply. While other meat products (like ground beef) were experiencing similar shortages earlier this year, they’ve all recovered — except for pepperoni!

According to Bloomberg, one of the reasons is because pork processing plants have had to reduce worker numbers to adhere to local social distancing guidelines.

Another reason is simply because the demand for pizza has risen significantly during the pandemic.

Smaller pizza shops will experience the shortage harsher, while big chains like Domino’s typically have pre-negotiated contracts where prices can’t change.

Eek! When pepperoni goes… you know we’re close to the end of the world.

H/T: People.