A Clear Lake resident is just over halfway through his 48-hour fast to raise money for the Houston Food Bank.

Mohammed Nasrullah, a retired space project manager who now helps run the MultiCultural Center in Webster, said in a news release that watching long lines of cars going to NRG Stadium for food donations underscored for him the dire situation many Houston-area residents are in amid the coronavirus pandemic. He and his wife, Ruth, have been regular supporters of the Houston Food Bank, which serves 18 counties, for years, and they wanted to do more to help during this time of unprecedented demand, he said.

Nasrullah will fast from 10 a.m. April 21 until 10 a.m. April 23, consuming only water during those two days, and has set up a GoFundMe page where he posts regular updates about his experience. His initial goal was to raise $5,000, but he said in a text message at 8:30 p.m. on April 21 that the campaign has already raised much more after a friend taped a $500 check to his front door. The campaign revised its goal to $7,500, with more than $6,750 raised as of noon on April 22.

Nasrullah retired from the space program two years ago and has devoted much of his time to activism and volunteering, per the release.

“This is my symbolic effort to share the pain my fellow Houstonians in need feel,” Nasrullah said in an email. “It will be a time for me to reflect on what hunger means, and to renew my dedication to helping alleviate it.”