If your only exposure to chefs and their kitchens comes from "Top Chef," "Iron Chef" and the multitude of frenzied and furious restaurant shows on TV, you might be caught off guard when you cross the threshold of the East Side Community Kitchen in Lancaster. There you'll find Leah Margerum, owner of this communal cooking space, which she both uses herself and rents out to other local food ventures. Sipping a cup of coffee, she calmly chats about her passion for food while chopping potatoes for a lunch she's making for a local preschool.

Finally, a crack in the calm comes. And it's all because of a question that raises the issue of what food should be and should not be: "What food do you see kids eating that drives you insane?"

"Go-GURT," she exclaims as she slaps her hand on her counter. "Yogurt should not be neon!"

You see, Leah likes real food, especially when it comes to feeding children. By real food, she means homemade foods created from all organic and often locally derived ingredients. This commitment is what drives Little Piggy, her kid-focused prepared-foods business at Central Market in Lancaster and online at www.thislittlepiggy.info. Packaged in eco-friendly containers that are placed in recycled bags, Little Piggy's snacks and meals provide parents with healthful, tasty foods for babies and young eaters.

"I get upset about how our culture feeds children," Leah explains. In part, she's referring to how adults eat differently from children. About how common it is to prepare one meal for the grown-ups, while the kiddos eat chicken fingers, pizza and a few other items from a limited menu of meals. "When do kids learn to eat like adults?" she wonders.

"What bothers me is that companies are using packaging to target moms who might not be as familiar with nutrition," she says.

Leah is well-aware that whipping up a nutritious meal for tots is not always easy. It's actually what led to her "a-ha" moment in creating Little Piggy. While making her own food purees for her second son, Jack, she ran low on her frozen cubes of veggies and purchased some jarred foods to bridge the gap. Looking at the watered-down versions from the jar, she felt there had to be better food options that parents could purchase. Surprisingly, there wasn't much out there.

The food industry is not an easy one to survive in. But while Leah admits it can be tough, Little Piggy is holding its own. She's taken baby steps in growing her business, never says no to an opportunity, and enlists a group of loyal friends who lend a hand with big orders. In addition to Little Piggy, she runs a catering business called Your Dinner Bell (for children and grownup events) and rents out space at her East Side Community Kitchen.

"I don't need to go nationwide. I love this, and if I can get by paying bills doing what I love, then that's enough."

Family: Husband, Clayton, married almost 10 years; William, 10, Jack, 2 1/2, Henry, 5 months.

Pets: A cat, Roscoe.

Employment: Owner of Little Piggy, East Side Community Kitchen and Your Dinner Bell catering.

Tip for making baby food at home: Buy a food mill. Even a hand-held one will work. Just put what you're having for dinner into the mill.

How I met my husband: My roommate in college was interested in a guy, but didn't want to go alone with him on a date. So he brought Clayton along and I went with my friend. We're now both married [to these men].

Our favorite family activity: Anytime we get to play outside.

My family's favorite meal: Taco night. My husband and I like spicy food, and the kids love to build their tacos.

Books currently on my nightstand: "The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals," by Michael Pollan; "Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Children," by Ann Cooper and Lisa Holmes; "Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History," by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson.

Music of choice: I haven't bought a CD since high school ... and back then it was tapes! I listen to NPR in the morning for news.

My favorite TV show: I don't watch TV.

Exercise of choice: Pilates. I love to go to the gym and lift weights, but kids make that hard.

What people may not know about me: I have a tatoo on the back of my neck. It's the Greek letter Psi, referring to my major in chemistry at Millersville University.

My best shortcut: Loading the coffee machine before bed. And my method of sorting laundry tends to be to cherry pick the outfits we'll need the next day.

How I indulge: I take a nap or read.

I'm passionate about: Food and equality.

I always tell my kids: That I love them.

Toughest part of being a mom: The fear that something bad is going to happen to my children.