2018 Year

2018 was a year of problem-solving and perseverance. Through
the hard work of our staff, and the success of the model, we were
ableto continue serving parents in poverty, even during
Nicaragua’s political crisis.
Last spring, we
piloted our new
on-the-go micro-
franchise, Fresco
Express!
A city can only
sustain so many
home-based stores,
and not every parent
is able to run a
store out of their
home.
Our mobile Fresco
Express food carts
allow us to create
jobs for more
parents...

...and bring fresh
food to high-traffic
areas throughout
Managua
But when tension between civilians
and the government escalated, and
violence broke out in the streets, we
had to pause our Fresco Express
program in order to protect the
safety of our partner parents
and staff.
Our incredible staff adjusted delivery routes,
negotiated with barricades,
and when public transit
was down, team
members left their
homes at 4 am and
walked up to 90 minutes
to get to our office and
make sure our parents
got the products they
needed.
As many other nonprofits
and businesses closed their
doors, we maintained 95%
of our operations and our
staff and store owners
remained safe throughout the
crisis.
Olga lost all
of the patients
in her at-home
clinic due to the
economic effects
of the crisis.

But she found
hope through
her Mercado
Fresco store
When the schools closed,
Ana Jacoba was able to
use her Mercado Fresco
savings to enroll her
daughter in a private school
so she could continue her
education.
And we continued to make time for community
through our family fun days!
We provided access to
new benefits for our store
owners this year including
vision testing, breast cancer
screenings, and emergency
insurance plans.
and we launched a regular series of women’s empowerment workshops,
developed with the help of IDB . These provide a space for our moms to
share the challenges they face in the machismo Latin American culture and
share strategies for overcoming these barriers.
This year we started a team of “Hope Ambassador”
volunteers and launched our monthly giving community,
“La Chispa” (The Spark).
In October, we moved
to one new office so
that our kitchen
operations were
housed under the
same roof as our
administrative and
training efforts.

The new office is
safer, has improved
communications and
most importantly
has air conditioning!
Though the tension remains, the violence has subsided and at
the end of the year we prepared to relaunch Fresco Express. We had
650 inquiries after our first announcement about the opportunity.
With 350,000 people
newly unemployed as a
result of the crisis this
year and 1.3 million
people estimated to be
newly on the brink of
poverty, we have a big
role to play in helping
families recover.
Because of the opportunity they found through Supply Hope in 2018....
...Massiel is now able to
afford the medicine she
needs to care for
her epileptic son...
...Jessica is saving
to rebuild her
home after the
tragic loss of her
husband...
...19-year-old Silke, who
shares a home with 14 of
her family members, is
earning money to provide
a better future for her
daughter, Nicolle...
...Mariana Romero is putting food on
the table for her two granddaughters
after their mother passed away and
their father left...
… and Silvia’s daughter,
Maria Monserath, is able to
attend college.
Thank you for sticking
with us through this
turbulent year. We are
deeply grateful for your
support. Hope is on the
move in Nicaragua and
we couldn’t do it without
you.

In 2019, we look forward
to scaling our efforts and
extending the hope of
opportunity to more
parents who want to
build a better future for
their children.