creative enterprise
A time for ingenuity
by wib middleton
here we are in the middle of a pandemic,
and for many of us, our work lives and
aspirations are on pause, derailed, or
being actively reimagined. Feet firmly
planted in mid air seems an apt description of
the time we’re in. So call out the innovators, the
creative entrepreneurs the lateral thinkers to offer
up some fertile possibilities of how to get through
this together.
Serial entrepreneur Josh Carin is one who is
answering the call, jumping into the uncertainty of
these times to help. A seasoned veteran with over
thirty years on the DC catering scene, Josh has
created a number of companies. All a deep commitment
to excellent food service, from beautifully
presented fine cuisine at weddings and corporate
events, to succulent savory BBQ, served up from
mobile smokers at farmers markets.
But that’s not the story we’re telling here. Instead
this is about a convergence of Josh’s itching
for a new business adventure, an unlikely opportunity
that arose at the Montgomery County Revenue
Authority (MCRA), and the onset of COVID-19.
As part of its mission, MCRA operates and
manages Montgomery County Golf (MCG), which
is comprised of nine courses throughout the
county, Poolesville being one of them. Leaving his
other businesses in the capable hands of his team,
Josh made the recent decision to take a full-time
position as Director of Hospitality at MCG, leveraging
his 31 years of business acumen into high
gear. “When COVID hit, the Revenue Authority
became a resource to help connect organizations
within the community to food sources, both locally
and regionally,” says Josh. Working with the head
of logistics from Montgomery County’s Department
of General Services and a newly developed
task force, Josh has been focused on emergency
planning and feeding alongside the coordination of
county vehicles to move food from place to place.
Additionally, he is leading a task force charged
with scaling up availability of prepared foods within
the county. “We are in the process of creating
five food hubs in different county locations that
will produce meals for people at risk and distribute
the food via various nonprofits that already serve
those communities,” says Josh. “The big thing is
that all of the food providers like Manna Food Center,
Capital Area Food Bank, WUMCO Help, area
churches, and others who are doing emergency
feeding, are all taxed beyond belief. So we are
jumping in to lend additional help through these
food hubs. The goal is to produce meals through
local caterers and restaurants. Think Jose Andres
and his World Central Kitchen,” Josh reports. “In
addition, we are preparing a plan to acquire easyto-prepare
boxes of food, good for three to six
days so people can make meals at home.”
As logistics planning and infrastructure
build-out come online, the effort to marry up food
providers with people in need will be putting businesses
impacted by COVID-19 back in business.
“We are working with five to seven
local caterers as well as five local restaurants. They
will be hired and paid to create those
meals. It’s a great win-win,” assures Josh.
Meanwhile, in the wake of the pandemic, the
Agricultural Reserve has taken on new importance.
Local small farm CSAs (Community Supported
Agriculture) are bursting with memberships and
now have waiting lists. “We have seen a 30 percent
increase in CSA sign-ups over concerns of
food chain disruption,” reports Josh. “Montgomery
Countryside Alliance Executive Director Caroline
Taylor and her team are working with local growers
to gear up for more production in the fall in
anticipation of increased demand.”
According to Josh, “Jeremy Criss, Director of
plenty I summer growing 2020 43