Culture

Gen Xers grew up eating a number of staple dishes: sloppy joes, tuna casserole, and Fluffernutter sandwiches. But one meal that was loved by latchkey kids was the Swanson frozen dinner, also known as the "TV dinner."

According to Smithsonian Magazine, Swanson invented the TV dinner in 1953. By 1954, the product hit the market and sold over 10 million meals. In 1972, Swanson launched its Hungry-Man line with bigger meals for hungrier customers. And by 1987, 150 million Swanson frozen dinners were sold each year. By the late 90s, it rose to 160 million sold each year, per Daily Meal.

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Swanson went through a number of different owners over the years, the first it was sold to being Campbell Soup Company in 1955. With sales dipping, the company created a new company where Swanson frozen dinners would live called Vlasic Foods International.

However, the company went bankrupt in 2001 and was sold to Pinnacle Foods Corporation. Frozen TV dinners began to fall out of favor with American consumers, and Pinnacle Foods Corporation stopped selling Swanson frozen dinners in 2010. According to Chowhound, ConAgra acquired Pinnacle Foods in 2018, and continues to carry on Hungry-Man meals.

However, many Gen Xers miss the original Swanson meals they grew up eating during their childhoods. They discussed their TV dinner memories on Reddit. "As a Latchkey Kid this delight from Swanson fed me, many a times after school, while watching reruns of The Little Rascals, waiting for my parents to come home from work. Did you have a freezer full of these teachers of independent cooking? Fried Chicken was the favorite. What was yours?" one Gen Xer asked.

"I didn’t eat them after school but they were my dinner when my parents went out for the evening (had a sitter when I was really little and then on my own when I was an adolescent). Mom would let me pick which one I wanted when we had our grocery trip, and the whole thing felt like SUCH a treat!" one commented.

Another added, "Teachers of independent cooking! Pre microwave even! Took like 40 minutes to make my Hungry Man for dinner while my parents were out doing god knows what. I still buy a Hungry Man now and then. Like once a year. Just because. :)"

Other Gen Xers discussed their favorite meals. "We got those twice a year...Salisbury Steak was my go to," one shared, while another added, "Always the Salisbury steak one with the chocolate cake that would always somehow have a couple kernels of corn in there."

Some preferred meatloaf or turkey. "I liked the meatloaf version - there was something so good about that tomato sauce it was in - plus the tater tots, green beans and that brownie. The turkey and dressing one could also always be counted on," one Gen Xer wrote. Another shared, "Mmm late 70s era Swanson Turkey TV dinner was so bomb. They even had an 'entree' version without the vegetables with extra mashed potatoes that my mom would get me. So starchy and unhealthy but so yummy."

And dessert was always a highlight.

"I ate everything as fast as possible to get to the apple cobbler," another commented, while a fellow Gen Xer added, "Pretty sure I still have scars in my mouth from scalding it with those cobblers. Hottest substance on earth."

And one Gen Xer commented, "Made my choice based solely on the dessert offering."