TV Tray History

The connection between TVs and turkey

TV trays and tables are an American part of dining history. After Gerry Thomas invented the Swanson TV Dinner in 1954, the use of TV trays and tables inevitably was soon to follow. The history of TV trays and tables has been somewhat overshadowed by the TV dinner history, but TV trays and tables became such a part of consuming TV dinners — like apple pie and ice cream — that it was difficult to find one without the other.

Imagine

When considering this boom of TV trays and tables, think about the mid-1950s in America:

10 years after the end of World War II

Modern appliances were gaining popularity

Television was experiencing innovations

The TV dinner, which was to be eaten on TV trays and tables, became so popular and such a trend in its first year that over 25 million were sold, which definitely beat Swanson's prediction and order of 5,000 to test the market. These first TV dinners enjoyed on TV trays and tables consisted of turkey with cornbread dressing and gravy, sweet potatoes, and buttered peas that were neatly divided into three compartments in their metal trays.

Could you pass the turkey, please?

The fact that turkey was the main ingredient of these first TV dinners consumed on TV trays and tables across the country goes back to the inspiration of their invention. C.A. Swanson and Sons of Omaha, Neb., had overestimated the amount of the bird that they could sell at Thanksgiving in 1953. So with over 520,000 pounds of poultry left over and not enough space to store it, Swanson actually sent the frozen meat on its way, transported on 10 refrigerated train cars back and forth between the Midwest and the East Coast. The company then sent a challenge out to their employees for ideas on how to use the turkey.

A salesman for Swanson at the time, Thomas had been in Pittsburgh with a distributor — Pan American Airways. He happened to notice a one-compartment metal tray the airliner was using to keep food warm. He asked to have one and spent the entire trip home thinking of ways how to use such trays with the challenge offered.

And the rest is history

The use of "TV" in TV dinner's name was only inspired by TV's growing popularity which was believed could only help sell the product. Perhaps the same could be said of TV trays and TV tables. Playing on the 'TV' part of the name, even the packaging of these meals was shaped like a television set with knobs and a screen. Thomas, who died at age 83 in 2005 and was known to be a gourmet cook, claimed to have never eaten his own invention, not even one, which is an ironic piece of this story that is the history of TV trays.

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