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Macon man making hand sanitizer to help feed those in need

Grant is giving away a third of what he makes.

MACON, Ga. — Right now, most of us are using gobs of hand sanitizer.  

One man, Robert Grant, is making it and selling it in Central Georgia, using his generosity to help others.

Robert Grant was a YouTuber talking about local restaurants, a community advocate of sorts, but when COVID-19 hit, that all dried up, so he had to come up with a new job -- making hand sanitizer. In the meantime, he also wanted to help out charities like Loaves and Fishes.

"We can make 20 gallons of hand sanitizer a week," Robert estimated.

It's all coming together for Grant and his product, Shineitizer.

A local distillery partnered with him for alcohol and Dole Sugar got on board and plans to send him 5,000 pounds of their product.

"In distilling, the main ingredient is sugar and tomato paste, oddly enough, and the tomato paste was donated by a local restaurant, Fatty's Pizza," he said.

There's nothing wrong with making a buck, but Robert plans to give away a third of Shineitizer to organizations that need some extra protection.

"For every two bottles I sell, I give away one bottle," he explained. " I've had a chance to give the hand sanitizer away to one of the fire stations and a nursing home."

Sierra Martin, along with a slew of volunteers, runs Loaves and Fishes. They feed the homeless.

"When he reached out to us, we were incredibly excited and appreciative," Sierra said. "When we do our daily meals, we provide a pump of hand sanitizer to each person."

Feeding upwards of 100 people a day, they go through a lot of hand sanitizer, and Thursday morning, they were down to one bottle.

"Are they really? I didn't know that," Robert exclaimed.

So, much like other superheroes who have stood out during this pandemic, Robert rushed over with his Shineitizer.

He doesn't see it as a big deal, but it's a gesture that could save lives.

"I think it's awesome he's used his sanitizer project not only to support the community, but to support those in need," Sierra said.

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