Vermont Brewers’ Festival and Food & Water Watch Partner to Go Bottled Water-Free

Vermont Brewers’ Festival and Food & Water Watch Partner to Go Bottled Water-Free

Burlington, Vt. – Food & Water Watch, a national consumer advocacy organization, and the Vermont Brewers’ Festival, an event that draws a crowd of over 10,000 from around the U.S. and Canada, are partnering this weekend to go bottled water-free and serve local Vermont tap water. Food & Water Watch advocates drinking tap water as part of its national Take Back the Tap campaign, which opposes bottled water for economic, health and environmental reasons. The event will take place at Burlington Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vt., beginning at 6pm on Friday, July 17th and running through 10pm on Saturday, July 18th.

“We congratulate the Vermont Brewers’ Festival’s organizers for their commitment to going green and taking back the tap,” said Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “Food & Water Watch is dedicated to helping citizens make the switch from bottled to tap water, and we’re pleased to have a role in making this event be a model for other large events.”

The festival will feature more than 36 craft brewers sampling their products on the shore of Lake Champlain. The brewers present include 18 Vermont brewers and 18 brewers visiting from elsewhere in New England, Delaware, California, and Canada. The event, which is in its 17th year, is put on by the Vermont Brewers’ Association, a group of eighteen local brewers who are committed to lessening their negative impacts on the environment. Food & Water Watch has worked with festival organizers to ensure that the event will be bottled-water free and all attendees will receive free tap water.

“We’re incredibly excited that Food & Water Watch is coming to Vermont. Food & Water Watch’s work is crucial, and it’s the perfect collaboration to go along with our environmental convictions—especially as it coincides with the Quadricentennial Celebration of Lake Champlain,” said festival coordinator Laura Streets. “With our festival taking place right on the waterfront, the message of protecting our water resources rings loud and clear,” she added.

Representatives from Food & Water Watch will be present at the event to help distribute the tap water, provide information to festival-goers, and sell stainless steel "Take Back the Tap" water bottles. Designated drivers will receive the bottles at a discounted price.

The "Take Back the Tap" campaign exists to educate consumers about the benefits of supporting public water systems and choosing tap water over bottled because of the negative economic, environmental and health consequences of bottled water production and consumption.