WATER IN DEMAND IN WAKE OF TERRORIST ATTACKS

BARBARA MURRAY

NEW YORK -- The air attack here and in the nation's capital on Sept. 11 sparked Center Store sales, mostly water.

Bottled water was the only commodity people were stocking up on, according to Rick Savner, spokesman for Pathmark, Carteret, N.J. He added that business was "very slow" the day of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center here and on the Pentagon in Washington. But it picked up as the week went on, with bottled water needing replenishment the most, he said.

As far as he knew, no store was ever completely out of stock on all brands of bottled water.

Pathmark also donated a trailer and a half of bottled water and half a trailer of food to evacuated people and medical operations at Liberty State Park, Jersey City, across New York Harbor from the World Trade Center. Pathmark has also set up a checkout program for customers to donate to the victims of the twin towers air attack, in which thousands of people are missing and presumed dead.

Mary Stoner Moore, spokeswoman for D'Agostino Supermarkets, Larchmont, N.Y., which has 19 stores in Manhattan, said on Thursday, Sept. 13, "We got deliveries yesterday, but we did have a problem below 14th Street. You're talking about the whole [Greenwich] Village." City officials had closed lower Manhattan (below 14th Street) to traffic.

She said that "for a while, we did have people stocking up on bottled water," and other nonperishable groceries.

Food from the American Frozen Food Institute's Frozen Food Filibuster, which was scheduled for Sept. 11, was donated to D.C. Central Kitchen, a local food bank, and was used to feed the hundreds of rescue workers in the capital. "So it did go to a good cause," said Michelle Trowbridge, vice president of communications for AFFI. She said AFFI will attempt another filibuster event next year.

Barry Scher, vice president of public affairs for Giant Food, Landover, Md., told SN stores were busy the afternoon of the attack, and a couple of stores located near the Pentagon served a high number of rescue workers. Some product was donated to them, he added. Most customers wanted batteries, candles, water and general provisions, Scher said.

"Customers were anticipating possible power outages, anticipating kids staying home from school -- which did occur -- but business went back to pretty much normal a day-and-a-half later."