Abstract: Thin and lightweight baked products such as crackers and the like are dispensed from a stack and placed into a compartment of a packaging tray or the like. An escapement gate assembly supports the product as it falls into a accumulator opening and before it drops into the compartment of the packaging tray. This engagement need be for only a small fraction of a second, long enough to dissipate virtually all of the horizontal velocity components imparted to the products during handling of the products prior to dropping into the compartment. A preferred application moves a sub-stack of crackers from a larger stack and into the compartment.