{"id":358014,"date":"2026-07-02T00:58:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/358014\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T00:58:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T00:58:40","slug":"small-houston-restaurant-with-big-heart-collects-supplies-for-venezuela-earthquake-relief","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/358014\/","title":{"rendered":"Small Houston restaurant with big heart collects supplies for Venezuela earthquake relief"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON \u2013 It\u2019s been nearly a week since two earthquakes devastated Venezuela, and rescuers are still pulling people \u2014 and animals \u2014 from the rubble.<\/p>\n

As the need for help continues to grow, several Houston-area groups are stepping up to collect and ship supplies to those affected.<\/p>\n

Among them is a small restaurant in the Greenway\/Upper Kirby area, where the owners say they\u2019re doing whatever they can to help their home country.<\/p>\n

RELATED: Places in Houston that are taking donations for Venezuela<\/a><\/p>\n

Gusto Gourmet may be a small spot, but don\u2019t let that fool you. The Venezuelan fusion restaurant is a direct reflection of its owners, Sandra Sarshalom and her husband, Yosi \u2014 and what they\u2019re really serving up these days is heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were born in Venezuela. Venezuela is our country. We were raised and born in Caracas,\u201d Sandra Sarshalom said. \u201cIt is our place, and it\u2019s devastating to see the second time that something has happened to La Guaira. It\u2019s really sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sarshaloms have been closely following every image, video, and update out of Venezuela \u2014 the rubble, the rescues, the heartbreak. They say it hit too close to home not to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe principal thing that we\u2019re doing is receiving donations,\u201d Sarshalom said. \u201cThe main donation is money. We\u2019re going to put on our website all the organizations that receive the money because it goes directly to Venezuela. They need the money there because they have a way to get the supplies in Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to monetary donations, the restaurant is also collecting medical and baby supplies to send back to Venezuela.<\/p>\n

\u201cMedical or baby supplies \u2014 no food, no clothes,\u201d Sarshalom said. \u201cOnly the basic things that are needed in Venezuela now. We\u2019re going to send them to the Global Empowerment Movement, and they\u2019re going to send everything to Venezuela.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plan is simple \u2014 collect as much as possible and get it back to Venezuela as quickly as possible. The Sarshaloms are working through groups like Metabox Cargo in Katy, which has already turned into a full-scale relief hub with dozens of pallets of supplies stacked and ready to ship.<\/p>\n

As for what\u2019s happening on the ground in Venezuela, Sarshalom says the situation is entering a painful new phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople are dying. They still have found people alive \u2014 that is amazing. It\u2019s a miracle,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are really thankful, and I think people have to keep looking, keep searching. But now is the second phase, and I think it\u2019s going to be harder than the first one, because now you\u2019re going to find the people that didn\u2019t make it, and you have to rebuild the cities.\u201d<\/p>\n

For those who want to help, diners at Gusto Gourmet can contribute simply by eating there \u2014 a portion of every tab will be donated to relief efforts. Monetary donations can also be made through organizations like the Red Cross and WeLove Foundation. <\/p>\n

Links to those organizations can be found here.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Houston Astros are also joining the effort. The Astros Foundation is holding a supply drive Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Union Station.<\/p>\n

Accepted items include non-perishable food, new temporary household goods, baby diapers, wipes, bottles, and hygiene products. Fans attending Friday\u2019s game can also drop off supplies at that time.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 It\u2019s been nearly a week since two earthquakes devastated Venezuela, and rescuers are still pulling people…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[124958,56,58,57,66,223,23159,3317],"class_list":["post-358014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-earthquake","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-local","tag-news","tag-venezuela","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}