Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Anheuser-Busch is delivering five truckloads – or more than 250,000 cans – of safe, clean drinking water to flood victims in central Louisiana in response to an urgent request from the American Red Cross. This is Anheuser-Busch’s largest water donation since Superstorm Sandy, and brings its total water donations this year to more than 1 million cans.
The company is deploying its logistics network to fast-track five truckloads of water to areas hit hardest by the floods, a 500 mile journey from its brewery in Cartersville, Georgia where the water was produced.
The Red Cross has reported life threatening flood conditions in Louisiana, with more than 10,000 people seeking refuge in Red Cross and community shelters so far.
“Throughout the year we periodically pause production at our brewery to can drinking water so we are ready to help communities in times of disaster,” said Sarah Schilling, Sr. Brewmaster of Anheuser-Busch’s Cartersville brewery. “We are humbled to provide this water to those in need.”
Anheuser-Busch has a longstanding tradition of providing water and supplies to those affected by natural disasters nationwide. In addition to producing and shipping emergency drinking water in times of need, the company contributed $1 million in 2016 as a member of the Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program and is a longtime partner of the organization’s blood donor program, receiving its Biomedical Partnership Award in 2015.
This summer, Anheuser-Busch sent more than 100,000 cans of emergency water to residents and wildfire relief workers in California and more than 100,000 cans to help communities in West Virginia as they faced historic levels of flooding. The company also provided water to the Baton Rouge area after deadly tornados struck this past February.
The water will arrive later this week via local Anheuser-Busch distributors Mockler Beverage Company in Baton Rouge and Schilling Distributing in Lafayette, who will work with the Red Cross to distribute the water to residents in need.
