SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Prodisee Pantry’s organizers and its army of volunteers have always kept an optimistic eye on the bigger picture, but time is running out for the Spanish Fort-based nonprofit to claim one of two top grant awards in a national competition.

The pantry is one of 287 finalists for Pepsi’s “Do Good for the Gulf” grant program, and its “Building to Meet the Need” proposal is vying for one of only two $250,000 top awards, the winners of which will be determined solely by online voters.

Votes will be accepted through Aug. 31 at www.refresheverything.com/food4families.

“We haven’t dropped in the rankings, but right now we’re holding steady at 16,” said Deann Servos, executive director of the emergency food and disaster relief operation serving all of Baldwin County.

“I don’t know why we haven’t budged, but we really need a big push from everybody to take the time to vote every day between now and Aug. 31,” she said.

The $1.3 million “Do Good for the Gulf” program, an extension of the larger Pepsi Refresh Project, received 1,200 applications and was designed specifically to help communities impacted by the oil spill resulting from the April 20 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig off the coast of Louisiana.

Servos said the pantry provides fresh, frozen and staple food items as well as referrals to other Baldwin County service agencies to some 700 families each month. The weekly rolls, she said, have received a substantial, sustained boost since the spill began wreaking havoc on life and livelihoods along the Gulf Coast.

If selected, the pantry’s “Building to Meet the Need” proposal would help fund construction of an 11,000-square-foot building to be constructed on donated property just outside the Spanish Fort city limits.

The new facility would include two sections. The first is a 5,000-square-foot receiving/storage/repackaging area for dry/frozen/cooled foods and disaster relief supplies with the necessary loading docks. The remaining 6,000 square feet will consist of a large multi-purpose public room for interviewing clients/meetings/event; an emergency kitchen; restrooms; and several offices.

Servos said the agency has actually been forced to turn down frozen and cold-storage donations for lack of space within the current location at the Gathering Place in Spanish Fort.

“We don’t do anything small,” said Servos, noting the pantry has served some 71,000 people since its founding in 2003.