Editor’s pick: #TOP15 Living stories of 2015

Randall Lineback cows are America's oldest and rarest breed of cattle. Several years ago, they were on the brink of extinction. Now, a Virginia farmer is working to bring them back. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

A local farmer is bringing back a rare breed of American cattle from the brink of extinction 鈥� and he’s working with local chefs to make it a success. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

杏吧原创/Rachel Nania

Towering orange and yellow construction cranes have become a regular sight in D.C.鈥檚 skyline as the city continues adding apartments, retail and restaurants. But one of the most exciting developments in the District is happening underground. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

杏吧原创/Rachel Nania

Tantalia Hall is one of nearly 400 D.C. residents who have received a written prescription for fresh produce in the last three years, and it鈥檚 all thanks to DC Green鈥檚 Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program. The program works with four D.C.-based health care centers and several farmers markets to help low-income patients who are struggling with chronic disease related to obesity, such as hypertension, diabetes, joint issues and more. (Courtesy Arcadia)

Courtesy Arcadia

Interior Design image of Cathedral Commons Apartments in Washington DC by Jeffrey Sauers of Commercial Photographics, Architectural Photo Artistry in Washington DC, Virginia to Florida and PA to New England

D.C. is jumping on the luxury apartment bandwagon. At Cathedral Commons, the latest high-end luxury apartment to hit the market in the District, prices for a one-bedroom loft with a den start at $3,925 a month; a 3,183 square foot three-bed, three-bath unit rents for $9,500. (Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers)

Courtesy Jeffrey Sauers

A big project is turning a decades-long vision of connecting D.C.鈥檚 Southeast neighborhoods into a reality. (Courtesy OMA+OLIN)

Courtesy OMA+OLIN

Insisting on organic is the core of a mission Nora Pouillon聽launched nearly 40 years ago, long before 鈥渙rganic鈥� was even a term recognized by Congress. And the nation鈥檚 pioneer of organic eating is not slowing down any time soon. (Courtesy Restaurant Nora)

Courtesy Restaurant Nora

The main course on the Petit Gourmand children's tasting menu at Trummer's on Main: a beef shortrib stroganoff, served with homemade paparadelle pasta. (Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)

In the six years since it opened, Trummer鈥檚 on Main has earned a reputation among D.C. diners for its locally sourced ingredients, carefully prepared seafood and innovative tasting menus. But these days, the dining establishment is catering to a new clientele with its tasting menu designed exclusively for children. (Courtesy Dusty Lockhart)

Courtesy Dusty Lockhart

More seniors are looking to remain in a community setting as they age.聽According to the Census Bureau鈥檚 2012 American Community Survey, the percentage of women 65 and older in 鈥渘onfamily households鈥� who choose not to live alone has grown to 3.8 percent, up from 2.96 percent, The New York Times reports. (Courtesy Bonnie Moore)

Courtesy Bonnie Moore

The display cases at Dog Tag Bakery are filled with freshly baked breads, pastries, pies and sandwiches. Around breakfast and lunch time, locals and tourists file into the caf茅 on the canal and pack the tables in the first-floor dining room. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

A local business is ‘baking a difference’ in the lives of veterans and their families. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

杏吧原创/Rachel Nania

Three of the four founders of Denizens Brewing Company are women. D.C. is seeing a growing number of women leading the food and beverage industries. (Courtesy Denizens Brewing Company)

Women are proving that their place is in the kitchen … and distillery and brewery.聽More women are taking over traditionally male-dominated roles in D.C.’s food and beverage industries. (Courtesy Denizens Brewing Company)

Courtesy Denizens Brewing Company

Chef Steven Badt and Chef Emily Hagel at Miriam's Kitchen. Badt came to Miriam's Kitchen 14 years ago and revolutionized the way the nonprofit feeds and serves the homeless community. (Courtesy Miriam's Kitchen)

Steven Badt,聽a chef who worked in restaurants in New York, Boston and D.C., didn鈥檛 see the need to treat a local nonprofit’s food program any differently than a program in one of his restaurants.聽 (Courtesy Miriam’s Kitchen)

Courtesy Miriam’s Kitchen

In a year where fast-food giant McDonald鈥檚 saw a 4.6 percent slide in U.S. sales, fast-casual restaurants increased their sales by 10.5 percent. Sweetgreen was one of D.C.'s first healthy, fast-casual concepts. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Double-stacked burgers and super-sized fries are no longer the portrait of fast food. Instead, quinoa bowls, wood-fired flatbreads and locally sourced lamb pitas are winning over the hearts of time-strapped diners in the District.聽 (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

McKenna鈥檚 Wagon is a mobile food truck operated by Martha鈥檚 Table. Seven days a week, 365 days a year, the van heads out to three locations in the city to serve a hot meal, bagged sandwiches and homemade muffins to anyone who is hungry.聽 (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

杏吧原创/Rachel Nania

Page is a 110-seat restaurant that recently opened in Terminal A at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. It serves Southern classics, such as pimento cheese, cured ham and biscuits, Virginia she crab soup and Chesapeake oysters. Travelers can also check the status of their flights and surf the web at their leisure. (Courtesy OTG/Page)

Some of Washington’s best chefs and restaurants are flocking to the airport. (Courtesy OTG/Page)

Courtesy OTG/Page

Most teenagers spend their free time engrossed in social media and selfies, but 16-year-old Bree Britt isn鈥檛 like most teenagers. Every day at 3:50 p.m., Bree gets off the school bus at a small strip of storefronts on Livingston Road in Accokeek, Maryland. And under a white awning that reads 鈥淏ree鈥檚 Sweet Treats,鈥� the teen transforms from high school student to business owner. (杏吧原创/Rachel Nania)

杏吧原创/Rachel Nania