Rising Stars: Meet Carrie Hill of Jenison

Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Hill.

Hi Carrie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
Sus Manos Gleaners started in 2008, by a father and son who had a vision to repurpose surplus or discarded produce from various sources such as local farmers, corporations, and individuals to be processed and dehydrated using volunteer labor and industrial dehydrating equipment. Since Michigan had so much nutrient rich produce that was going to waste and generous people with time to give, it was the perfect opportunity to start a gleaning operation similar to what is done across Canada, but would be the first of its kind in the US. The first 10 years were a process of getting on our feet and lots of fundraising and grant writing. Now in the last 6 years we have exploded with growth!

Once dehydrated, the produce is used for a vegetable soup base and dried fruit snacks in such a way as to maximize its nutritional value. The end product is labeled with cooking directions in the language of the country that will be receiving the food. And the now shelf stable food is shipped worldwide to various Christian overseas missions as part of their ministry to populations facing critical food shortages. The dried product maintains its nutritional value but is obviously much easier and more economical to ship and maintains a much longer shelf-life.

Last year, in 2024, we logged over 25,000 volunteer hours and sent just over 3 millions servings of food around the world. We are able to accept volunteers of any age and we love providing the opportunity for families to serve together. We are also an “all abilities volunteer site” and do our best to accommodate different needs and abilities. We regularly welcome wonderful groups from local ministry partners Harbor House and our friends in wheelchairs and neuro diverse friends from Ben’s Hope. So from 2-102 years young, you are welcome to volunteer!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road! Starting a non profit organization that is the first of its kind in the US is no easy task. Proving our concept to grant writers and underwriters was at times insurmountable. Fortunately our non-profit Founders had mentors that kept spurring them on and, thankfully, one piece at a time things fell into place. A great deal of prayer went into our formation and foundation. The first 10 years were slow going. Once those first few grants were secured and a matching grant for the commercial dehydrator was met, we were able to start production. From there we were able to start growing and our volunteer base increased. Groups started coming and we were able to grow from a ministry that we focused on just sending food oversees to a ministry that was dually focused. Sus Manos Gleaners gives groups the opportunity to come together for a 2 hour experience of serving together, learning about global food insecurity and having the ability to produce 8-10 thousand meals together. Since our humble beginning we have grown exponentially, sending just over 10 million servings as of the end of March 2025.
There is so much surplus perishable food in Michigan and generally so many volunteers available. The challenge at this point is needing more space as we have outgrown our 8,000 square foot warehouse. With more floor space we could double production which would enable us to feed twice the hungry people around the world.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Being part of Sus Manos Gleaners is a wonderful opportunity to serve within my community. Our family has always served on the international mission field whether in Mexico, Uganda, Uruguay and other stops along the way. We truly enjoy serving together and seeing lives changed for Christ. When the Covid shutdowns came we were Stateside for an unrelated medical surgery and found ourselves unable to return to the field for the foreseeable future. When the opportunity to serve in a part time capacity at Sus Manos Gleaners came up, I was delighted to have an opportunity to serve from West Michigan, yet be involved in an International capacity. As they say the rest is history! Our whole family is very involved in the daily operations of Sus Manos Gleaners! Being that my husband is self employed and we are a homeschool family, we have a tremendous amount of flexibility to be available to the ebb and flow of the schedule at SMG. There is a tremendous amount of maintaince and repairs that is required on the various pieces of equipment and tools that are used in the process for which I am so thankful for my very resourceful husband. I wear many hats at Sus Manos Gleaners! From the voice volunteers hear upon initially contacting Gleaners by phone or the face they see when they arrive to volunteer, that would be me. I am also the one that coordinates produce delivers as well as to the outgoing shipments of the dehydrated product headed overseas. I can often be found power washing after hours or unclogging floor drains. I really enjoy networking with schools and other business and groups within the community for volunteer opportunities. And can also be found speaking and sharing about the goal and mission of Sus Manos Gleaners with Church and Schools at local events and services. I am passionate about Sus Manos Gleaners and the ability to take otherwise compostable food and make nutritious meals for those who would other wise go without! Using food a a vehicle to spread the Gospel and repurpose food that would be wasted is brilliant! I am so thankful to our founders Jim and Tim Paauw who stuck it out through those difficult years and made this organization what it is today! To think of the 10 million meals that otherwise wouldn’t have been given to starving people is astounding!

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I think I answered this question in my somewhat wordy answer on the last page 😉

Contact Info:

• Website: https://smgleaner.org
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SMGleaners
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/3hpXMKZzWwM?si=bvQbQQgJzxusVJca