Hungry Venezuelans turn to Colombia for a plate of food http://www.fox5ny.com/news/273723505-story Oropeza said he earned about $70 a month working at the Ministry of Education and selling hamburgers on the side — twice Venezuela's minimum wage but still not enough to feed a family of four. Once a month his family receives a bundle of food provided by the government, but it only lasts a week. "So the other three weeks, like most Venezuelans, we have to make magic happen," he said on a recent afternoon.