By Francesca Furey
As comforting as a stiff drink might be right now, hand sanitizer might ease your mind even more.
Starting March 23, Bluebird Distilling, Phoenixville’s grain-to-glass distillery, will pivot from spirit production to hand sanitizer. The ethanol-based hand sanitizer, made from a recipe recommended by the World Health Organization, will support the community and fight the nation-wide shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This decision was easy, we’re not selling the hand sanitizer for economic profit, we’re just looking to cover the costs of making it so we can support our community,” says Jared Adkins, founder of Bluebird Distilling.
The hand sanitizer will be distributed to hospitals, doctor’s offices and at-risk communities and locations in the Greater Philadelphia Region. “We’re proud to be supporting our medical professionals and those in the front lines during this time of crisis,” Adkins says.
As of Wednesday, there are 1,127 cases of COVID-19 in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia County has reported 257 cases; Montgomery County reported 172, Delaware County reported 101 and Bucks County reported 86, respectively.
“We want to do our part to help save lives during this epidemic,” Adkins added.
As the production cycle continues, Bluebird Distilling encourages interested hospitals, homeless shelters, senior citizen centers, paramedics, fire stations and other businesses or organizations considered as “high risk” to contact them. Reach out to sanitizer@bluebirddistilling.com.
