Comfortable serving tray

A food service and dining tray for use in providing appetite stimulus to the person receiving food on it, particularly bedridden, weakened, and impaired people, through visual and physical enhancement of the food and its presentation, said food service and dining tray comprising,

• a smooth, elongated, and substantially planar upper tray surface having a perimeter edge and being configured for promoting secure adhesion of high-friction material;
• opposing end panels upwardly depending from said upper tray surface, with each said end panel having sturdy handle means adapted for controlled transport of said upper tray surface in a substantially horizontally-extending orientation when it supports food items and tableware so as to maintain food items and tableware in their originally established positions relative to said upper tray surface subsequent to transport;
• two opposing perimeter rims upwardly depending from said upper tray surface, with each of said rims having a first end contiguous with one of said opposing end panels and a second end contiguous with the other of said opposing end panels, said perimeter rims having a height dimension less than that of said opposing end panels;
• a substantially planar high-friction mat having a maximum surface area no larger than that of said upper tray surface, said mat being capable of maintaining tableware items in their originally established positions during dining and transport, said mat also being sufficiently flexible for rolling into a compact storage configuration, and further wherein said high-friction mat is made from material having thermal properties that permit it to protect said upper tray surface from heat damage and also help to maintain elevated and reduced temperatures in tableware, foods, and beverages situated thereupon and thereabove during transport;
• a groove positioned adjacent to said perimeter edge of said upper tray surface, said groove also having a dimension adequate for retaining said high-friction mat when it is rolled into said compact storage configuration;
• and
• a yielding bottom portion substantially filled with lightweight, inert, non-toxic, and non-allergenic soft fill material configured so that said yielding bottom portion is able to conform to the configuration of the surfaces and laps upon which it is placed, and also comfortably support the combined weight of said upper tray surface, said opposing end panels, said perimeter rims, and said high-friction mat, as well as any supported tableware, when said food service and dining tray is placed upon the lap of the person dining from it.

A method for manufacturing a food service and dining tray usable for appetite stimulus to the person receiving food on it, particularly bedridden weakened and impaired people through visual and physical enhancement of the food and its presentation, said method comprising the steps of:

• providing a substantially planar and smooth upper tray surface configured for promoting secure adhesion of high-friction material and that also has an opposing bottom tray surface, two opposing end panels each having sturdy handle means, two pieces of perimeter rim material each having a height dimension less than that of said end panels, a substantially planar and high-friction mat having a surface area no larger than said upper tray surface and being capable of maintaining tableware items placed thereon in their originally established positions during dining and transport in addition to the capability for being rolled into a compact storage configuration, and a yielding bottom portion containing lightweight, inert, non-toxic, and non-allergenic soft fill material that is configured to conform to the configuration of the surfaces and laps upon which it is placed and also comfortably supports the combined weight of said upper tray surface, said opposing end panels, said perimeter rims, and said high-friction mat when all are placed upon the lap of a person;
• attaching said opposing end panels to said upper surface in an upwardly depending fashion;
• extending said two pieces of perimeter rim material so that they upwardly depend from said upper tray surface between said opposing end panels and contiguous therewith;
• attaching said yielding bottom portion to said bottom tray surface;
• and
• removably positioning said mat on said upper tray surface when it is needed during transport of containers holding hot and cold foods for reduced spills and damage to said upper tray surface, as well as during dining for the same two purposes and also to firmly secure tableware in fixed positions relative to said upper tray surface.