Disaster relief agencies are reaching out to a major beer brewery in the metro Atlanta area to send fresh water for evacuees in emergency shelters.
On Friday, the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Cartersville, Georgia, shut down a production line to produce hundreds of thousands of cans of water that soon will be shipped to the hurricane zone affected by Matthew.
The brewery makes 24 different varieties of beer. The plant is one of the largest breweries in the country.
But when Hurricane Matthew moved up the east coast of the United States, the crew skipped the hops, malt and yeast to package something critical to the needs of those displaced by the storm: good, old-fashioned, canned water.
“We look at it as our responsibility. It's something we can do to give back and help in a time of need," general manager Kevin Farenkrog said.
Farenkrog said the brewery got an urgent call from the American Red Cross asking for water supplies and immediately went to work.
In just one day, they produced 800,000 cans of water that will be sent to coastal areas hit by the hurricane.
“They are opening as many as 100 evacuation shelters,” Farenkrog said. “We will be shipping here today over 450,000 cans of water to the victims and the shelters.”
Some folks might feel a little strange drinking water out of a can with the Anheuser-Busch logo on it.
“It’s very good. Better than most bottled water, in my opinion,” Farenkrog said.
For now, the beverage company is sending nine tractor-trailer loads of water to areas affected by the hurricane but they expect to send even more in the days and weeks ahead.
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