Portland chef collecting donations for Venezualan earthquake relief

 Portland chef and restaurateur Ilma Lopez has collected donations for the earthquake survivors in Venezuela. Shown are the donations as of Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, Lopez said she'd collected three times as many goods and supplies. (Courtesy of Ilma Lopez) The Venezuela-born co-owner of Ugly Duckling and Chaval is collecting donations to help survivors of recent devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Ilma Lopez put out [social media posts](https://www.instagram.com/p/DaF9ZJhRNnZ/?hl=en) Friday announcing her collection effort. Over the weekend, donors dropped off food, clothing, blankets, over-the-counter medications and first aid supplies to Chaval and Ugly Duckling. Lopez said Monday afternoon she had more than 30 boxes ready to ship to Venezuela Tuesday. “Mainers are wonderful, and we’re so grateful people have opened their arms to Venezuela,” Lopez said. “I grew up there. That’s my people. Most of my family is there.” Aftershocks measuring as high as 5.1 on the Richter scale continued to hit Venezuela Monday, according to AP reports. The country was hit last week with back-to-back earthquakes, killing at least 1,450 residents. Thousands more have been reported missing; many are believed to be buried beneath rubble. More than 2,600 rescue workers from around the world have travelled to Venezuela with search dogs and machinery. “We’re a super-poor country, and we’ve been under oppression from the government for 27 years,” Lopez said. “People are starving, there’s no freedom of speech. When you add an earthquake, the impact is insane.” Lopez said her own family has not been harmed by the quakes, but some of her friends’ family members have perished. Lopez plans to continue collecting donations for future shipments. “This is a little thing we can do for them. It’s not going to make the future much better, but on a pure human level, it’s the least we can do for them.” Copy the Story Link Tagged: [maine restaurants](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/maine-restaurants/), [the wrap](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/the-wrap/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/timothy-cebula) [Tim CebulaStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/timothy-cebula) Tim Cebula has been a food writer and editor for 23 years. A former correspondent for The Boston Globe food section, his work has appeared in Time, Health, Food & Wine, CNN.com, and Boston magazine,. [More by Tim Cebula](https://www.pressherald.com/author/timothy-cebula)