"Governments have assured our constituents they will have everything they need in their communities to stay safe and well during this difficult time. We are holding them to this promise," CLC chief executive Joe MartinJard said.

He also said authorities must monitor the price of key food items in remote community stores and come down hard on any price gouging.

"We need immediate freight subsidies and supply guarantees for these stores so they can reduce their prices and don't run out of essential supplies," he said.

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Even before the pandemic hit, remote community residents paid, on average, 60 per cent more in their stores for a healthy food basket and many traveled to regional towns to buy cheaper groceries.

With that option now gone they are forced to rely on community stores where food and other essentials are becoming increasingly unaffordable and scarce.

The CLC is concerned remote community residents will travel in and out of biosecurity areas to shop in Alice Springs.

"In one community story a lettuce costs $10. People pay $5.50 for tinned steak when they could buy it at a major supermarket for $1.70. Some tins of food at that store go for $10," Mr Martin-Jard said.

He has called on governments to boost emergency food relief programs and work with Coles and Woolworths to set up a separate online ordering system for remote aged care, nutrition and other services affected by the supermarkets' limitations on bulk purchases of food and hygiene products.

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