Stretchers, Pasta and Other Kind Acts at Ground Zero

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Oct, 2001 by Jeca Taudte

New York media didn't just cover the September II catastrophe--some participated in the rescue effort. Esquire executive editor Mark Warren and research editor Andrew Chaikivsky built stretchers and stacked supplies, for example, while Talk editor in chief Tina Brown headed downtown to Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Grill, where she handed out hot meals to rescue workers.

Back at their Chelsea offices, Talk staffers were doing some food prep of their own. After learning that nearby restaurant the Tonic was a drop-off location for donated food for ground zero workers, a few volunteer chefs--some editorial assistants, researchers, a copy editor and a member of the cleaning staff--collected ingredients and take-out containers from local restaurants and delis. Using the Talk kitchen, they cooked IIO plates of rigatoni to add to the Tonic's food drive.

"It seemed like a pretty cool feat, to make dinner for IIO people, but looking at the news coverage, it almost felt like a joke--to think that some pasta could make a difference in the face of all that," says editorial assistant and chief rigatoni chef Heather Larson. "I guess a lot of the volunteering that went on was as much for the volunteers' sake as for anything, to feel like we were doing something, that we were helpful and productive and had a purpose--to keep at least our hands occupied in the hopes that our minds would follow."