AB InBev switches to canning water to help hurricane victims

Brewing giant AB InBev has paused brewing at one of its sites for a week in order to can water to send to the flood victims of Hurricane Harvey.

The company has paused production at its facility in Catersville, Georgia, in order to focus on canning clean drinking water. The company has reportedly already shipped 150,000 cans to various locations in the US hit by Hurricane Harvey, including Louisiana and Texas.

The Catersville site apparently switches over to water canning at least twice a year in order to provide clean water for victims of various disasters.

Meanwhile its network of more than 400 distributors across the US are then able to ship the water to where it’s needed.

In recent years the brewer has provided water for those affected by Hurricanes Sandy and Matthew, other flood victims in Texas and Oaklahoma and for firefighters battling wildfires in Washington state. Since 1988 it has donated more than 76 million cans of drinking water according to the Red Cross.

Sarah Schilling, brewmaster at the Catersville Brewery, said in a statement: “Throughout the year, we periodically pause beer production at our Cartersville, Georgia brewery to produce emergency canned drinking water so we are ready to help out communities across the country in times of crisis.

“Putting our production and logistics strengths to work by providing safe, clean drinking water is the best way we can help in these situations.”

Since 2013 AB InBev’s brewery in Leuven, Belgium, has also been adapted to provide this service in Europe should the need arise.