SPANISH FORT, Ala.—Prodisee Pantry launched a fundraising campaign Monday for an 11,000-square-foot building to be constructed on donated property just outside the Spanish Fort city limits.

Deann Servos, the pantry’s executive director, said the nonprofit emergency food and disaster relief operation serving all of Baldwin County said the new space has been a priority for months as demand for services has risen steadily.

After months of negotiations, Servos said local developer W. Allen Cox has donated the land along U.S. Highway 31 between Alabama Highways 181 and 59.

Meanwhile, White-Spunner Construction Inc. has estimated the project will cost roughly $1.5 million.

Servos said the Monte L. Moorer Foundation has already pledged $50,000 toward the project if the balance can be raised.

One avenue for funding is Pepsi’s “Do Good for the Gulf” grant program for which the pantry’s “Building to Meet the Need” proposal is a finalist for a $250,000 grant. Supporters have until Aug. 31 to cast a vote for the pantry at www.refresheverything.com.

“Do Good for the Gulf” is the extension of the Pepsi Refresh Project designed specifically to help communities impacted by the oil spill to the tune of $1.3 million.

Of 1,200 entrants, the pantry is one of 287 finalists, and the top two proposals receiving votes will each receive $250,000, while the remaining finalists will receive lesser portions.

Servos said the national recession already boosted the pantry’s demand by 62 percent, but the nonprofit’s rolls have increased another 20 percent since the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, wreaking havoc on coastal fishing communities.