Hurricane Florence is starting to hit the North Carolina coast, and beer is here to help.
Big Beer is sending a combined 500,000 cans of emergency drinking water to areas expecting to be hit. So far, Anheuser-Busch sent six truckloads, or about 300,000 cans, to local wholesalers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia; and Miller Coors sent 200,000 cans, reports Delmarva Now, part of the USA Today Network. Both companies are donating through the American Red Cross.
Meanwhile, the Can’d Aid Foundation, a partnership with Oskar Blues Brewery and Ball Corporation, sent nearly 53,000 cans of water to North Carolina, according to an announcement on Instagram.
Local brewing companies are also doing their part. Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, N.C., and Wrightsville Beach Brewery in Wilmington, N.C. are filling growlers with water for free for families and individuals who need them. The latter brewery is also providing ice, according to an announcement on its Facebook page. But, Wrightsville Brewery adds, “don’t be that guy who drives in the storm.”
Also via Facebook, Good Hops Brewing of Carolina Beach, N.C. helped spread the word for Walking Tall, a local homeless shelter collecting supplies for the potential emergency. The post specifies how citizens may donate supplies to the shelter, or donate money on Venmo or Paypal.
Many breweries have donated water as part of disaster relief efforts. In January, Budweiser unveiled a Super Bowl ad spotlighting its parent company’s emergency water program. At that time, the company had donated more than 79 million cans of water over the past 30 years.
“This year, as part of Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercial launch, we committed to expanding our emergency drinking water program,” Bill Bradley, vice president of community affairs at Anheuser-Busch, said in a statement on Wednesday. “Today, we’re pleased to be officially delivering on that promise, doubling our production capacity to help our fellow Americans in times of need.”
