Patent ID: 7083818

Claim:
A method of preparing a party tray which comprises the steps of A) providing a container body which (i) is composed of a transparent polymeric material, (ii) has a depth of 1 to 4 in., (iii) has a circumference of 30 to 100 in.; and (iv) comprises 1) a base, 2) a continuous wall which extends away from the base and is contiguous with the base, 3) a continuous rim which is contiguous with the wall, and 4) partitions which extend away from the base in the same direction as the wall; and (v) has a loading orientation in which the wall extends upwards from the base, and the partitions extend upwards from the base and create fillable compartments within the container body; the partitions being cavity walls, and the container body having been prepared by molding a polymeric material, thus forming the base, wall, rim and partitions at the same time; B) while the container body is in the loading orientation, placing foodstuffs in the compartments so that the foodstuffs rest on the base, at least some of the foodstuffs being fresh vegetables and the foodstuffs placed in at least one of the compartments being multiple pieces of a fresh vegetable; C) after step B, and without any intermediate step between step B and step C, sealing a sealing sheet of polymeric material to the rim of the container body so that the sealing sheet extends over the compartments and creates a sealed package (i) which contains the foodstuffs and a packaging atmosphere around the foodstuffs, (ii) whose outer surface is defined by the container body end the sealing sheet, and (iii) which includes an atmosphere control member included in the sealing sheet; D) after step C, placing a support tray over the sealing sheet; and E) after step D, turning the sealed package and the support tray placed thereon upside-down, so that the foodstuffs rest on the sealing sheet, and the sealing sheet is supported by the support tray, the support tray comprising ribs such that, after step (E) air can circulate between the support tray and the atmosphere control member; whereby the party tray can be displayed for sale in a display orientation in which the foodstuffs are viewed by a shopper through the container body.