BILLINGS - Rising fuel prices are bad enough. Did you know that they're also driving up the cost of food? As the price at the pump goes up, so do food costs. That's because the food has to get from the farm to the family somehow and usually, it's by truck.

"If you go to the store to buy anything in Montana it came from a truck," said Dale Sanford of Diversified Truck Leasing. "Sixty percent of communities in Montana have no way of getting anything unless by truck." Diversified Transfer and Storage is a trucking company that ships frozen food throughout the nation.

Frank Molodecki is the Vice President of Operations for DTS. He said fuel costs have been on the rise for years, but the recent jump is unprecedented. "To have it escalate as quick as it has in the last 6-9 months is a big concern," he said. DTS will spend about $2-million more for diesel this year than in previous years. Most of those costs are passed on to the supplier in the form of a surcharge.

"We will charge them that fuel surcharge," Molodecki said, "And they will in turn pass it to the consumer." DTS is making an effort to get the most out of the thousands of gallons of fuel they purchase each year. "With as much fuel as we buy, you're talking about 10ths of a mile per gallon makes a tremendous difference." Molodecki said. "A tenth can be worth, in this market, $12-15 thousand a month."

They're looking to put air dams under trailers to cut down on drag; they use low resistance tires; and they're asking drivers to make a few changes. "You keep the engine in its max torque range. Over-torquing the engine wastes fuel," Sanford said. "Slowing the trucks down does increase your fuel efficiency."

They're also making changes to the way they stop. "Anytime you stop a vehicle this size you waste fuel," Sanford said. Molodecki said that's why the company has a policy that a driver must turn the engine off any time s/he steps on the brakes. All small steps that Molodecki said are the right things to do for the environment, for business, and for consumers.

While costs are up for the farmer and the trucker there is still one more step food takes before it reaches the American family. It has to go to the grocer.