MIDWAY, FL - Did you know Thanksgiving leftovers sparked the creation of TV Dinners.
The first TV dinners produced by Swanson were the answer to a problem they had with Thanksgiving turkey leftovers, not just a few tupper ware containers, we're tawlking about 260 tons of leftovers.
So, Swanson appealed to workers to come up with ideas.
Gerry Thomas has just seen the airplane-friendly compartmentalized, aluminum trays used by Pan American Airways and introduced the idea to The Swanson brothers in Nebraska.
They packaged turkey, corn bread, stuffing, peas and sweet potatoes.
In the first year, Swanson sold more than 25 million tv dinners at 98 cents per package.
According to the American Frozen Food Institute, the average american eats 72 frozen meals a year, making frozen foods a $22 billion dollar industry.
But there is more you can do with those Thanksgiving leftovers then just packaging them up.
On Second Cup, we talked about a few alternatives.
