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About MARIAL MARIAL in the News NBC Nightly News New business allows people to assemble meals there, cook them at home March 30, 2006 ANCHORS: BRIAN WILLIAMS REPORTERS: ROGER O'NEIL BODY: Announcer: THE NIGHTLY JOURNAL brought to you by... BRIAN WILLIAMS, anchor: And in our NIGHTLY JOURNAL tonight, if you're a working parent who comes home to the faces of hun--hungry family members every night, then you know dinner can often mean either food on the run or whatever's in the freezer. Well, where there's a need in America, there's often a new business. This one, though, is meant to help at mealtime. We get the story tonight from a man who is no stranger to a good meal, NBC's Roger O'Neil. ROGER O'NEIL reporting: Here's something you don't hear very often in today's busy American family. Ms. ROBIN SPENCE: Come and get it. O'NEIL: Dinner by mom. Unidentified Man: That looks good. Ms. SPENCE: This is Tuscan Hunter's chicken. O'NEIL: Like so many, Robin Spence has no time to cook. Ms. SPENCE: There we go. First the green onions. O'NEIL: But she can find time to assemble a dozen or more dinners all at one time at one of the hottest new businesses in America... Ms. KARA ANDERSON: I am working up a meal to go. O'NEIL: ...Meal Assembly. Homemade meals in a bag, but not made at home. Ms. ANDERSON: So we'll just put these on your shelf. O'NEIL: At Kara Anderson's Super Supper store in Jacksonville, Florida, it's not just busy moms but seniors, singles, even men. Ms. ANDERSON: The food is good, it's inexpensive, it saves you time. O'NEIL: You'd think some marketing genius would come up with a better name than meal assembly station, but all of the ingredients are here. If I could find horseradish--what's horseradish sauce look like? They say I can make a meal of marmalade-grazed pork chops in about five minutes. And just 3 to $4 a serving. Ms. STEPHANIE ALLEN: This is where it all began. O'NEIL: Stephanie Allen came up with no-fuss meals because she felt guilty about not cooking for her family. Ms. ALLEN: We all know it's important to eat at the dinner table with your family, but what you serve, sometimes, you're not as proud of as you should be. O'NEIL: Her Dream Dinners is one of 255 different companies now, projected to make $270 million this year. And it seems there's more to home-cooked than mom's special touch. Mr. BRADD SHORE, PhD (Anthropologist, Emory University): Eating is just not any activity. It really defines the--the idea of what's the family. Man: And it doesn't take that long to cook. Ms. SPENCE: Super Suppers has allowed us to come back together as a family. O'NEIL: Maybe those corny TV shows of 1960s weren't so corny after all. (Clip from "Leave it to Beaver") O'NEIL: The best part, we didn't see any brussels sprouts in these new home-cooked meals. Roger O'Neil, NBC News, Jacksonville.
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