Anheuser-Busch Delivers 1.5 Million Cans of Drinking Water to Volunteer Fire Departments

Six-packs of Bud Light, Budweiser and Michelob Ultra are displayed at a liquor store, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Fairfield, California. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

Anheuser-Busch is once again swapping beer for drinking water as part of its annual effort to help volunteer firefighters prepare for wildfire season.

Working with distributor Tri-Eagle Sales and the National Volunteer Fire Council, the brewer is donating 1.5 million cans of emergency drinking water to more than 630 volunteer fire departments across 45 states before peak wildfire season arrives.

One of the latest deliveries was made to Fanning Springs Fire Rescue in Florida, where firefighters received more than 2,300 cans of emergency drinking water.

Unlike traditional disaster relief efforts that begin after emergencies strike, the program is designed to ensure volunteer fire departments have clean drinking water on hand before responding to wildfires and other natural disasters.

The initiative is especially significant because nearly 65% of U.S. firefighters serve as volunteers, many of whom operate with limited budgets for emergency supplies.

To produce the water, Anheuser-Busch temporarily halts beer production at its breweries in Cartersville, Georgia, and Fort Collins, Colorado. The facilities instead can drinking water that is distributed to communities and first responders across the country.

The brewer has operated the program since 1988 and says it has donated more than 100 million cans of emergency drinking water to communities affected by natural disasters and other crises over the past 38 years.

The annual campaign has become one of the company’s signature disaster preparedness initiatives, supplying volunteer fire departments with an essential resource before extreme weather and wildfire conditions intensify during the summer months.