CONTRACTOR SUCCESS STORY
also reduce flooding issues by keeping most of the drainage water on-site , so they are really good for the environment and are now required in many locations .” Replacing waterwasting sprinklers with efficient drip irrigation has also become the norm .
To-date , one of the largest projects in which Native Soil has participated is the $ 71 million
OUSD Central Kitchen , Instruction Farm and Educational Center ( aka “ The Center ”), managed by Overaa Construction . This is the project which Manny and Angie are most proud to have worked on . As the hub of the new district-wide school food program network , the Center houses a commercialgrade kitchen , learning , play and outdoor classrooms , a greenhouse , instructional garden , farm and outdoor teaching kitchen – the latter even equipped with a wood-fired pizza oven .
“ It ’ s really cool because it ’ s a farm-to-table concept ,” shares Manny , “ They have a greenhouse where they grow seedlings , then they transfer them into the veggie planters that we installed , and then once the vegetables are grown , they harvest and cook them in their kitchen .” Native Soils installed the Center ’ s irrigation and bioswales drainage systems , vegetable planters , outdoor vegetable garden and other plants . They recently got hired to redesign the irrigation system .
At the Center , OUSD students can learn firsthand about urban agriculture , nutrition and cooking . Manny appreciates how interactive the educational portion is for the kids , emphasizing , “ And this is just a portion of what they ’ re doing . Inside , they ’ re preparing over 30,000 meals a day for the whole district , so they ’ re bringing in local trucks and local farmers from local farms .” He not only admires all the moving parts that go into how the Center successfully creates and distributes so many meals , but also how this concept has become a model from which others are now seeking to learn – with everyone from local celebrity food activists Ayesha and Stephen Curry to various state representatives touring the cutting-edge facilities .
Manny and Angie both attended OUSD schools and “ literally grew up on the free lunch programs ,” says Manny . Working on the Center project gave them the opportunity to feel that they were contributing , giving back to the community , and he adds , “ helping these kids to learn the whole process of growing their own food and actually being fed fresh and healthy food .”
The Center project is also particularly meaningful to Angie . “ My mom was working in the Oakland Unified School District in a cafeteria . She was so excited to hear about this project and [ that ] we were working on it . It ’ s creating a lot of jobs . My mom and her friends are all applying . It ’ s huge in our community and it ’ s making a huge impact on everyone ’ s life , including my mom ’ s .”
Native Soil was recently asked back by OUSD to do upgrades on and expand the Center ’ s irrigation system . It was for this project that Angie and Manny reached out to the CTAP for bonding assistance . They ’ ve found the CTAP staff very helpful , especially Jennifer Elmore , who guided them through the detailed bonding application process . Getting bonded now gives Native Soil the option to bid directly as a prime contractor , which for this $ 100,000 project , will earn them about 10 % more – a substantial addition to any small contractor ’ s bottom line . Now that the Center staff have some experience using the existing irrigation system , Manny is eager to learn more about their specific gardening needs , so that he can incorporate their input in designing an upgrade .
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