The average statewide gas price in Missouri was $3.85 on Friday. Still, Missourians are paying the second lowest gas price average in the country, largely due to low fuel taxes in the state. The national average stood at $4.33 per gallon as of Friday, the breaking July 2008’s record of $4.11 per gallon.
Much of the sharp increase can be attributed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, national officials have said, and the uncertainty the global market felt as a result, as well as the United States’ decision to cut Russian oil out of its market.
Currently, 41 states in the country have average gas prices over $4 per gallon, according to AAA. California drivers pay an average of $5.72, the highest in the nation. Kansas has the lowest average gas price at $3.82.
Meals on Wheels
The spiking cost of gas is not only felt by individuals. Meals on Wheels, a service of Northside Nutrition, delivers 400 meals to homebound Butler County residents every week day. Administrator Tammy Kassinger said drivers cover 152 miles on those days.
“Really, the only thing that’s helping us now, I would say, is donations from (places) like the SEMO Food Bank,” she said, since Meals on Wheels is uniquely situated between rising grocery costs and rising fuel costs. A pallet of food is money the organization can put toward fuel instead.
Kassinger said their fuel costs have doubled since last year, and half of that increase occurred within the last month.
Meals on Wheels has struggled since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, facing staffing and volunteer shortages. They have also been unable to hold fundraisers. Kassinger hopes to organize an autumn fundraiser, but until then, she said the service needs more people to deliver food, even just to the cottages around the Twin Towers.
“We need volunteers, that would help a whole lot,” she said.
Anyone interested in volunteering or donating can do so at the Nutrition Center at 508 Bartlett St.
McLane Transportation
The cost of diesel is even higher than gas — it has risen 68% since last year, said operations manager Allen Brooks of McLane Transportation. The Missouri average is $4.74, only one cent above the national average.
Oil prices are also driving up the cost of other petroleum-based vehicle necessities.
“Tires are petroleum-based, of course, we use all kinds of motor oils, transmission fluids, things like that. Those are all petroleum-based products, so all those things have gone up exponentially also,” he said. Even diesel exhaust fluid, which is mostly ammonia and water, has doubled to almost $4 per gallon.
To offset those costs, Brooks said, “We have to reduce our out-of-route miles. We have to reduce the idle time on the trucks. We have to make sure that they’re maintained properly, you know, we just have to be a little more cognizant of what’s going on with the truck ... so it’s not using more fuel than it needs to.”
Twin Rivers
In largely rural southern Butler County, the Twin Rivers school district is limited in how it can conserve fuel, so schools look to save money in other areas, like their electricity and heating bills.
“Since we have a duty to transport our students, we can do very little about the price of gasoline,” superintendent Dr. Ben Johnson said. “So we tend to turn our focus on areas that we do have more control over when it comes to spending.”
He noted the district also streamlined its phone systems earlier in the school year, which saves thousands of dollars in monthly bills.
“The important lesson to learn during times like this is to focus on what you do have some control over and see if those areas will provide answers and relief to problems such as rising gas prices,” he said.