Food service tray

Claim 1

A food service tray assembly comprising: a. a base, said base comprising a urethane foam shape of a polyurethane rigid closed cell foam, said shape having at least one coating all over the exterior of the foam; b. a cover different from said base and mounted on top of said base; said cover comprising a urethane foam shape of a polyurethane rigid closed cell foam, said shape having at least one coating all over the exterior of the foam; c. said base having a plurality of cavities therein, said cavities being of a size and shape to accommodate conventional sizes and shapes of permanent and disposable dishware; d. said cover having a plurality of cavities therein; e. each of said cavities of said cover being in registry with one of said cavities in said base to form a food storage compartment; f. said cover and base having mating perimetrical thermal barriers around certain of said registering cavities, to inhibit lateral heat transfer between adjacent cavities; g. said coaver having means to inhibit vertical heat release from said food storage compartments; h. the overall height of said assembly being less for a distance along at least one margin thereof than elsewhere to provide, in a stack of assemblies, finger receiving spaces between each assembly and the assembly next below it, and to facilitate reception of said cover and said base separately in the dish rack of an institutional dishwasher machine; and i. wherein one side of said assembly is irregular with respect to the others to facilitate identification of correct registry of said cover with said base in assembly thereof; said cover having lug means projecting upward therefrom, and said base having upwardly extending recess means therein, whereby said assembly is securely stackable with like assemblies, the lug means of said cover projecting into the recess means of the base of the assembly next above it, and the recess means of said base receiving the projecting lug means of the cover below it; one of said cavities in said cover having a corner therein disposed in vertical projection with a corner in said one lug, whereby a plurality of covers like said cover is stackable, with the upwardly projecting one lug of each received in the corner of a cavity of the cover next adjacent thereto.