Abstract: The apparatus of the present invention includes an indexing feeder for feeding the elongated food articles, a first slicing station and a second slicing station disposed along the indexing feeder for slicing the food articles into slabs, and a container conveyor system for delivering containers to receive the slabs. The articles are placed individually into winged troughs ("flights") carried by the indexing feeder and the feeder is advanced by two flight spacings in each slicing cycle. The second slicing station is displaced from the first slicing station by an odd number of flights. Each slicing station further includes an indexing turret with a number of self-centering chucks disposed around the periphery of the turret. The turret is rotated in such a way so as to allow a food article to be inserted into each chuck as the chuck rotates past the indexing feeder.