Swanson's TV Dinners

By David Koesters

Published September 6, 2023 at 8:50 AM CDT

The original TV dinner was created in downtown Omaha thanks to an abundance of Thanksgiving leftovers. Learn about the origins of Swanson's TV Brand Frozen Dinner.

Special thanks to Tim and Lisa Trudell, authors of the book Lost Treasures of Omaha and operators of the site The Walking Tourists, for sharing the history of these lost treasures. Pictures and commercial audio used taken from various archive resources available on Youtube and online.

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David Koesters

David started in broadcasting at his hometown radio station in Holdrege, Nebraska while still in high school. He went on to earn journalism and law degrees from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and has worked for a number of radio and television stations around the United States. He is a big advocate for community media and loves being a part of the local fabric of NPR. He also has a cat.

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