This year we'd like to pay homage to our historic influencers who laid the groundwork for school meals today.

Ellen Richards

Ellen Richards, nutrition and home economics pioneer, began the first-ever school lunch program at Boston Latin School in 1894. She was invited by the Boston School Committee to test a school lunch program. Nine Boston schools piloted a hot midday meal. By 1912, the idea spread to more than 40 voluntary school lunch programs across the country.

What's the full story?

George Grantham Bain Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Getty Images/ Bettmann / Contributor

Lyndon B. Johnson

In 1966, Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Child Nutrition Act. This provided the first national legislation to make school lunch a permanent fixture in American schools and ensure low-income children have access to healthy foods.

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Former First Lady Michelle Obama joined students for a "Let's Move! " Salad Bars to Schools launch event at Riverside Elementary School in Miami, Nov. 22, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Michelle Obama

As First Lady, Michele Obama placed emphasis on combatting childhood obesity through her Let's Move! campaign. This work helped culminate the momentum for Congress to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act in 2010. The legislation funded child nutrition programs and free lunch programs and set new nutrition standards for schools for the first time in 30 years.

Read up on the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act

Celebrate Your School Lunch Heroes

Celebrate the child nutrition professionals in your life on Friday, May 6th. Reach out with a kind note or text message, share a story on social media, or take some time to learn about the history of school nutrition!

School up on school lunch!

Mental Floss: A Brief History of School Lunch
USDA Food and Nutrition Service: History of the National School Lunch Program
PBS Food: The History of School Lunch
TIME: An Abbreviated History of School Lunch in America