Customers and business owners have felt the brunt of soaring fuel prices, a commodity that has grown pricier since the U.S. launched a war against Iran.

Gas prices have shot up by more than 50%, according to some metrics, and airline ticket prices over the last two months have been surging at major airports while smaller hubs, like Hollywood Burbank, are canceling trips altogether.

But the sting hasn’t been felt only at major industries. Farmers markets — that humble and charming throwback to a bygone era — are also struggling with higher fuel prices, after weathering the economic calamities of the pandemic and other misfortunes.

I visited the Murrieta Certified Farmer’s Market on Sunday to gauge how vendors were managing higher gas costs.

Here’s what I found.

Customers buzzed around samples of cardinal-colored strawberries and indigo blueberries at the table staffed by Moises Sanchez, 32, who has worked at Sanchez Farms for 20 years, a family business run by his aunt Zenaida Quintero Sanchez.

“It’s a difficult time for everyone — for vendors, sellers, buyers and anyone who pumps gas,” Moises Sanchez said.

His produce’s journey began at 10 p.m. on Saturday. That’s when Sanchez and 15-year-old cousin Diego Hernandez left Nipomo, off the Central Coast, with 60 crates of berries loaded onto a 2017 Ford Transit 150 Van with 290,000 miles on the odometer. They drove about 160 miles to a friend’s house in Los Angeles, where they rested before heading out again at 4 a.m. for the final 80 miles.

Three months ago, Zenaida Quintero Sanchez, owner and chief vendor of Sanchez Farms, filled the van at a price of $3.98 a gallon. She said she just paid $5.97 a gallon at the most recent fill-up.

“Every week, we’re paying just a little bit more, from $100 to $110 to $120 and now close to $140,” Quintero Sanchez said. “And that’s for each way.”

On top of gas, Sanchez Farms has seen the price of its plastic baggies and baskets rise between 5 to 10 cents, per unit — also the result of rising fuel prices rippling through the economy.

That increase has trickled into their produce, where Quintero Sanchez said every basket and box sold has increased $1. A half-flat (about six baskets) of strawberries sells for $22, and a single basket is $5. Other variety of berries sell for $6.

“We’ve also started charging $1 for credit card [payments],” Quintero Sanchez said. “We just have to make up the difference.”

Still, most of Sanchez Farms’ customers have remained loyal, and the operation has seen only marginal sale losses.

“We’ve never claimed to be the cheapest, but the highest quality,” Moises Sanchez said. “Our customers thankfully continue to come back because they know we’re better than any store.”

Diamond Bar residents Martha and Adolfo Mijares have found a home at the Murrieta Certified Farmer’s Market, in part due to prices.

They pay less than $50 per day for a 10X10 spot in which they sell their brightly colored talavera earthenware pottery and handmade stained-glass decorations.

The pottery comes straight from a Hidalgo, Mexico, factory, but Martha Mijares makes the stained-glass ornaments herself.

The pots feature a variety of motifs from floral designs to western desert cactus vibes. The duo’s best sellers, however, are talavera fountains and bird baths that feature a solar-powered sprayer that sells for $250.

“We had instances where people have come in and bought nine of these,” Adolfo Mijares said. “They are very popular.”

This Sunday, however, the pair had only four available and about 40 talavera pieces altogether. A few months ago, the number would have been double.

In response to the rising gas prices, the Mijareses have cut costs by sharing shipping space with similar vendors. Their cargo truck loaded with talavera products from Hidalgo is now split between two, three or four vendors.

“We’re bringing in less from the factory and selling less here,” Martha Mijares said, “but it’s better for us than raising prices and our customers are grateful.”

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