When Christy Hayes arrived in Woodland in 2004, the former U.S. Air Force heavy diesel mechanic was fresh out of active duty. She found a job as a hostess at an iconic downtown eatery, Morrison’s Upstairs. She worked her way up to bartender and then bar manager. But Hayes never expected she would one day see the building house her own restaurant.

When Leo Hickman returned in 2003 from an eight-month tour in Kuwait as a combat engineer in the U.S. Air Force, he wanted a way to spread peace. With no idea how, he set out on a journey of self-discovery and backpacked through 27 countries.

As the food court at a Sacramento mall buzzed with families on a recent summer day, Emily Wickelgren and her daughter Thea were enjoying lunch at Subway. The 7-year-old opted for water with her sandwich instead of soda or juice.

New beers are prime currency in the world of craft beer. Walk into any of the 60-plus independent craft breweries in the Sacramento region and you’ll probably encounter an enormous tap list filled with 10-20 beers in a diverse range of styles. Come back a month later and you’ll probably find that at least half of those taps have changed to different beers.

At the end of a long day, Nevada City resident Dustin Harper likes to unwind with a cold, robustly flavored craft beer. Harper considers himself a beer aficionado and enjoys sampling brews across Northern California. This spring, he will have a new option to do so just minutes away from home. By the end of this summer, he may even have two.

When Poor Red’s shuttered its doors six years ago, it was the end of an era in the sleepy foothills town of El Dorado — or so many people thought.

Kira O’Donnell Babich wasn’t expecting block-long lines and a sell-out day when she opened the Real Pie Company in early April, but that was her welcome to 24th Street in Sacramento.

In San Joaquin County, elementary and middle school students are running farmers markets at 10 after-school sites. In Yolo County, the Yolo Food Bank runs each market held at local schools, but hundreds of students get to shop weekly for fresh produce. And in Sacramento County, a hybrid approach currently serves five schools.

Even though 76 percent of Americans think fast food is “not too good” or “not good at all for you,” almost half say they eat fast food at least weekly, according to a 2013 Gallup poll.

The Cake Depot makes inventive sculptures, having worked on edible projects from Air Jordan rice krispie treat replicas to a cake bustier for a bachelorette party.