School lunch menus published via Twitter

School lunches are increasingly a focal point in the ongoing battle against childhood obesity, drawing even the attention of British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. Following survey results suggesting that one of parents’ top concerns is that they don’t typically know what’s on the menu on any given day, the UK’s School Fund Trust has partnered with Somerset County Services to publish its school menu each day via Twitter. Beginning this fall, parents who subscribe to the trial service by following @SCSSchoolmeals will receive a tweet each morning showing what’s on the school menu. Any parent, grandparent or care-giver can follow, whether their child currently eats school meals or not. The feed will also be used to update parents on special theme days, taster sessions and how to apply for free school meals. The trial is part of a raft of new initiatives the School Fund Trust is piloting to increase use of school meals; results will be made available online. Chris Wainwright of the School Food Trust explains: “With this trial, parents will be able to ask what children thought about the food on offer, and which lunch option they chose. It gives parents the information they need to start discussions about healthy food.” Given that some 6 million people visit Twitter each month, it’s not too surprising that more than 100 local councils in the UK are currently on Twitter—nor that the UK government recently published a 20-page guide urging MPs and civil servants to embrace the microblogging platform. Consumers can use Twitter to track their packages, file civic complaints and apply for jobs; where could the ability to tweet benefit your brand…? (Related: In Jakarta, healthy meals at sponsored food carts for kids.) Spotted by: Judy McRae