Food package

Abstract

A food package is provided that includes a compartment in which food items are carried and a holder portion which allows a user to place the food item therein with the food item held in a stationary position. The food holder can serve as a staging area for combining the food item with other food items or can be used as a placement location for a partially eaten food item. In the preferred multicompartment package, an improved back card construction is also disclosed.

1 . A food package for containing food items and food products, the food package comprising: 
 a base member having a plurality of distinct compartments in which the food items and food products are received;    a thin film attached to the base member to seal the food item in a first compartment, and to seal at least one food product in a second compartment; and    a holding portion of the base member having a predetermined configuration to receive a food item as removed from the first compartment in a substantially stationary position in the holding portion, wherein the food item received in the holding portion is configured to receive food product removed from one of the compartments.    
   
   
       2 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the holding portion includes surfaces forming the predetermined configuration to match that of a portion of the food item received in the stationary position therein.  
   
   
       3 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the first compartment is sized to receive a plurality of the food items, and the holding portion is smaller than the first compartment for receiving a single one of the food items therein.  
   
   
       4 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the thin film covers both the first compartment and the holding portion with separation of the film from the base member and from over the first compartment and the holding portion allowing the food item to be removed from the first compartment and placed in the holding portion.  
   
   
       5 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the first compartment has a predetermined configuration sized to receive the food item in a predetermined sideways orientation thereof, and the holding portion predetermined configuration keeps the food item in a predetermined vertical orientation thereof.  
   
   
       6 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the holding portion has a generally conical configuration for receiving a tip end of the food item therein.  
   
   
       7 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the holding portion has a tripod configuration including three legs to minimize thinning of material in the holding portion.  
   
   
       8 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the first compartment is sized to receive a plurality of the food items therein, and the holding portion comprises a pair of holding portions each sized to receive one of the food items and spaced across the first compartment from each other.  
   
   
       9 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the holding portion of the base provides a staging area for receiving the food item of the first compartment in the stationary position therein while at least one of the food products from another compartment is combined with the stationary food item.  
   
   
       10 . The food package of  claim 9  wherein the base member has a length and at least two of the compartments are spaced from each other along the base member length and have aligned flat bottoms thereof, and 
 an elongate flat card member adhered to the aligned bottoms of the two spaced compartments to stiffen the base member along the length thereof for keeping the food items and the food products in the compartments during opening of the film.    
   
   
       11 . The food package of  claim 1  wherein the compartments include a bottom wall and side wall portions upstanding therefrom, the base member includes stacking lugs projecting from the side wall portions, and the holding portion includes surfaces depending from one of the stacking lugs with the lugs keeping adjacent bottom walls and holding portion surfaces in respective stacked package base members spaced from each other for providing ease in separation of the stacked base members.  
   
   
       12 . A food package for containing food items and food products, the food package comprising: 
 a base member having a plurality of compartments opening in a first direction in which the food items and food products may be received;    a holding portion opening in the first direction of the base member having a predetermined configuration to receive in a substantially stationary position a food item as removed from one of the compartments; and    a thin film attached to the base member to seal the food items and food products in the compartments.    
   
   
       13 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein the holding portion includes surfaces forming the predetermined configuration to correspond to a portion of the food item received in the stationary position therein.  
   
   
       14 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein a first one of the compartments is sized to receive a plurality of the food items, and the holding portion is smaller than the first compartment for receiving a single one of the food items therein.  
   
   
       15 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein the thin film covers both a first compartment and the holding portion, and separation of the film from the base member and from over the first compartment allows the food item to be removed from the first compartment and placed in the holding portion.  
   
   
       16 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein a first compartment has a predetermined configuration sized to receive the food item in a predetermined sideways orientation thereof, and the holding portion predetermined configuration keeps the food item in a predetermined vertical orientation thereof.  
   
   
       17 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein the holding portion has a generally conical configuration for receiving a tip end of the food item therein.  
   
   
       18 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein the holding portion has a tripod configuration including three legs to minimize thinning of material in the holding portion.  
   
   
       19 . The food package of  claim 12  wherein the holding portion of the base provides a staging area for receiving the food item of a first compartment in the stationary position therein while at least one of the food products from another compartment is combined with the stationary food item.