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By Karla Browne, Sentinel Reporter, November 19, 2006

Last updated: Sunday, November 19, 2006 3:55 AM EST

A row of empty plastic laundry baskets and wheeled coolers waits just inside the door at Main Dish Kitchen at Hampden Centre strip mall in Hampden Township.

At two U-shaped counters a few yards away, the conveyances' owners scoop, measure, layer and package ingredients into a dozen different family-sized meals that are bound for their freezers or refrigerators at home.

For $189 and about two hours work on the part of the participant, Main Dish Kitchen supplies all the food, packaging, labels, utensils, recipes and work stations for creation of 12 different main dishes, each serving four to six people.

That translates to less than $3 per serving, a bargain compared to fast food and a time-saver for busy families.

Some of the participants are making up an extra main dish to feed a family with a sick child or a wife in surgery or a homebound person - paid for by Main Dish Kitchen.

“We offer five free meals to customers (at each two-hour preparation session) to share with someone in need,” says Pam Fickel, franchise co-owner with her brother-in-law, Denny Fickel.

That “gets them involved in giving,” Pam Fickel says.

And to set an example for giving, Main Dish Kitchen donates a meal to an area charity for every full order of 12 meals. Customers may help prepare those meals, or staffers will do it if the volunteers don't materialize, Fickel says. The tag line for the program is Meals with a Mission.

As a couple from an interfaith mission leaves with plastic baskets full of frozen dinners, Pam Fickel ticks off on her fingers the rest of the charities they chose for their franchise's donations: “Mondays, it's Project SHARE in Carlisle; Tuesdays, hospice, Wednesdays, Salvation Army, and Thursdays, Ronald McDonald House.”

Charity is not the end-all mission at Main Dish Kitchen, but it's behind the business' concept, says Fickel, who is a friend of a company founder, Laura Vos of Holland, Mich., where the company started about two years ago under the name Leap of Faith LLC.

“We need to make sure families eat around the dinner table and eat healthy, plus make sure we are doing for others,” Fickel explains. “But this is a business. It's for profit.”

Fickel holds up a finger and thumb about an inch apart as she describes the profit margin as “about this big.”

But that's not keeping away potential franchisee buyers. The company has turned away inquiries, she says.

“The biggest thing is food delivery - 90 percent of the food comes from Gordon Foods in Michigan,” Fickel says. That ensures peak freshness and allows cooperative buying, but limits the geographic range.

The great majority of Main Dish Kitchen's 14 franchises are in Michigan, where the original kitchen opened in September 2004, the company website states.

The Hampden franchise, which opened in January, is the only one in the Northeast.

“They approached me,” Fickel says, “and asked if I'd be interested in doing one. Almost everyone who owns a Main Dish Kitchen are family or friends of the family” that founded the company.

Vos' inspiration started the company with four other families who “caught the vision” she developed after seeing the concept explained on television, the website says.

“The diverse talents of the founding families determined their company's success; the combination of culinary skills, construction and design know-how, food service expertise and marketing experience came together perfectly.”

The Fickel family's experience in starting their franchise was the same.

Pam Fickel's husband, Doug Fickel, was in the construction business for 20 years before becoming a manufacturer's rep.

Denny Fickel, Pam's co-operator and Doug's brother, was a supervisor for Fry Communications in Mechanicsburg.

Colleen Fickel, Denny's wife, works for the state, but is a staunch supporter of the effort, Pam says.

Pam is an accountant by trade.

Just as important as their diverse skills, they “stand on the same ground morally and ethically,” Pam says.

Having her brother-in-law on board to run the “back end” - the food preparation area - while she deals with customers who are up to their elbows in meal assembly is a huge psychological and physical advantage, Pam says.

“It was not something I wanted to do on my own. It's a huge undertaking.”

On top of that the financial investment was “beyond anything we expected,” she says.

As construction got under way last year, Hurricane Katrina “made a huge impact” on costs of labor and materials.

Fickel declined to name the investment amount, but alludes to the magnitude of it when she says, “when you risk everything you've ever worked for, it's a big commitment.”

Fickel shows her commitment by offering, along with other franchisees, input on new products and recipes at regular meetings she attends in Michigan.

The ready-made frozen cookie dough and hor d'ouevres offered this fall are a result of input from Fickel's customers.

“Customers have just hammered us - ‘How can you help us get ready for the holidays?'” Fickel says.

They wanted to bake cookies themselves, not open a box or warm up baked cookies, and they wanted an easy, elegant tray of tidbits to take to school, family or office parties.

“I got with the franchise chef and I'm thrilled with what we got,” Fickel says.

Customers are pleased, too.

At a meal preparation session last week, Janet Scott of Carlisle strolled over to a cart of frozen desserts, cookie dough and side dishes to “see what they've got this week.

“I may not have to cook at all,” she joked.

Being able to pull a healthy meal out of the freezer and stick it in the oven appeals to customers, but for different reasons.

“I have three children and they all play travel soccer and basketball season has started,” says Lori Falconer, 38, of Hampden as she rolls ground beef, onion and spices into Mexican Meat Balls.

“I'm never home at night,” Falconer says. “I want something a little more nutritious than chicken nuggets.”

Barbara Wiss, 72, of Carlisle just cooks for herself and her husband, but she'd rather be doing decorative painting or doll-making.

Janice Wiss, 41, of South Middleton Township, who had brought her mother-in-law to a meal-making session, is a stay-at-home mom, but enjoys not having to “chop, dice and slice” just as her 9- and 13-year-old get home from school.

Friends Larisa Juday, 33, and Tina Salomone, 39, both of Dickinson Township, who both have young families, say the costs of home versus commercial preparation “equal out.”

“You don't have the expense of vegetables going bad and extra spices. And there's the time” involved in shopping and preparation, Juday says.

Salomone chimes in, “And I can be with friends while I'm doing it - and you don't wash dishes!”

“It's absolutely worth it,” Salomone says.

“And,” Juday adds, “it's an awesome mission.”