At the request of the American Red Cross, Anheuser-Busch is delivering seven truckloads – more than 360,000 cans – of emergency drinking water to support local communities in preparation for Hurricane Ian in Florida.

As employee safety is the foremost and primary concern, Anheuser-Busch is working closely with its local teams – including at its Jacksonville brewery – to ensure colleagues and partners in the region are safe.

The donation of emergency drinking water will be done in partnership with Anheuser-Busch wholesaler partner, City Beverage, to the American Red Cross operations in Orlando, so that they may distribute the resources to those in need.

“The American Red Cross is grateful for Anheuser-Busch’s generous donation of drinking water as we prepare in advance of Hurricane Ian,” said Elizabeth Penniman, Vice President of Communications for the American Red Cross . “We’re so thankful for partners like Anheuser-Busch that allow us to be ready to respond in times of crisis.”

The clean, safe drinking water is sourced from the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Georgia, which alongside the Fort Collins brewery periodically pauses beer production throughout the year to can emergency drinking water and help communities in times of disaster in partnership with the American Red Cross.

“As we all prepare for Hurricane Ian, our thoughts are with our entire community, especially our more than 1,100 A-B colleagues that call Florida home,” said Craig Tomeo, Senior General Manager of the Anheuser-Busch Jacksonville Brewery. 

“Our team in Jacksonville is proud of the support that Anheuser-Bush is providing through this critical donation as we come together and prepare for the effects of the Hurricane with our families, friends and neighbours.”

Anheuser-Busch has a longstanding tradition of providing support for disaster relief efforts in partnership with the American Red Cross, dating back to 1906. Since the inception of the emergency drinking water program in 1988, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesaler partners have provided more than 90 million cans of water to U.S. communities affected by natural disasters and other crises.

Last year alone, Anheuser-Busch donated more than 4 million cans of emergency drinking water to communities and volunteer fire departments across 49 states in support of ongoing relief efforts.