September 10
- National Swap Ideas Day
- National TV Dinner Day
- National Ants on a Log Day – Second Tuesday in September
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NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY
National TV Dinner Day is observed annually on September 10th. In 1953, C.A. Swanson & Sons changed the prepackaged meal business forever. Introducing the TV Dinner revolutionized frozen food.
In 1962, Swanson stopped using the name TV Dinner. However, in the United States, the term remains synonymous with any prepackaged dinner purchased frozen from a store and heated at home.
The first Swanson TV Dinner consisted of a Thanksgiving meal of turkey, cornbread dressing, peas, and sweet potatoes. The original tray was made of aluminum and each food item had separate compartments. The dinner had to be heated in the oven. Most meals cooked in the oven for 25 minutes. Today, nearly all frozen food trays can be cooked in the microwave or in a conventional oven.
The original product sold for 98 cents. The first year, Swanson’s production estimate was 5,000 dinners. To their surprise, Swanson far exceeded that amount. In the first year, they sold more than 10 million of them.
- 1960 – Swanson added desserts to a new four-compartment tray.
- 1964 – Night Hawk name originated from the Night Hawk steak houses that operated in Austin, Texas from 1939 through 1994. The original diners were open all night catering to the late-night crowd. The restaurants produced the first frozen Night Hawk TV dinner in 1964.
- 1969 – The first TV breakfasts were marketed. Great Starts Breakfasts and breakfast sandwiches followed later.
- 1973 – The first Swanson Hungry-Man dinners were marketed; these were larger portions of its regular dinner products.
- 1986 – The first microwave oven-safe trays were marketed.
- 1986 – The Smithsonian Institute inducted the original Swanson TV Dinner tray into the Museum of American History.
Much has changed since the original TV Dinner. They also remain a popular choice for a fast and convenient meal and fun to eat in front of the TV!
HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalTVDinnerDay
Get out a TV dinner, pop it in the microwave or oven, and enjoy! Use #NationalTVDinnerDay to post on social media.
NATIONAL TV DINNER DAY HISTORY
We were unable to find the creator of National TV Dinner Day.
