TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Gas prices are continuing to rise following the start of the war in Iran. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Florida as of Friday is $3.95, with diesel at $5.38. Nationally, prices are up about 28 cents from last week.
In Tallahassee, some stations are nearing $4 per gallon for gas, while diesel has climbed past $5. The increase is making it harder for people who rely on fuel to run their businesses, especially those constantly on the road.
Tasha Pizarro, owner of Momma P’s Ice Cream, says her truck makes multiple daily stops at schools, community centers, churches and parks – often traveling across Tallahassee more than once a day.
“I’m going to be at two to three stops a day, and sometimes I can drive from north east Tallahassee over to FSU, and sometimes I do that twice a day,” Pizarro said.
Her truck takes about 40 gallons of diesel to fill, now costing more than $200 each time. With the busy season approaching, she says the timing couldn’t be worse.
“If I go out less, then I make less, and so I can’t really stop that. Again, raising prices, so it’s really like what we did with COVID was taking it one day at a time,” she said.
Pizarro says raising prices isn’t an option, leaving few alternatives.
“The money has to come from somewhere, so it can either come from raising my prices, which I refuse to do because people are only going to pay so much for a SpongeBob, so that’s not going to happen. I could pay myself less, but we already have our family budget set, so that can’t happen. The reality is less money gets put into our savings business account,” she said.
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Pizarro isn’t alone. Lee Powell, owner and operator of Kona Ice in central southwest Georgia, says he’s also feeling the impact, even without raising prices.
“To make ourselves feel a little bit better, we say fill it up when it’s halfway full, that way it doesn’t hurt so bad,” Powell said.
With peak season for ice cream and snow cones just around the corner, both owners say they’re adjusting where they can.
“I have to keep going no matter what. What I have done to adjust is I’ve tried to find places that I can go park and sit and let people come to me. That does save me some gas if I just sit still and say, ” Hey, you come to me. I’ll be at this place from 2 to 3 today.’”
For now, business owners say they’re taking it one day at a time as fuel costs continue to climb.
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