• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Ice Cream Trucks Feeling The Pinch, Doubly

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +   
Jul 14, 2008 11:16 am US/Central

Ice Cream Trucks Feeling The Pinch, Doubly

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) ― It's a tough summer for ice cream trucks.

Not only has the price of ice cream gone up, but gas prices are also emptying ice cream truck operators' wallets.

Tom Fischer of Big Bell Ice Cream Co. in Minneapolis says it's a no-win situation for people like him.

But instead of giving up, many ice cream truck operators are trying to adapt.

Carl Long owns Frosty Treats based in Kansas City, Missouri. He says his company is buying smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The company has also added signs on the trucks that encourage customers to give tips.

And an ice cream truck operator in Dundas, Minnesota, is finding events where the truck can be parked instead of selling ice cream by driving around the neighborhoods.

Ice cream trucks are just many types of businesses and public services across the country strapped by rising fuel prices. More local police are using bicycles and segways to patrol neighborhoods, CBS station WCBS-TV reported.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

© MMIX, CBS Stations Group of Texas L.P. All Rights Reserved.