SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Deann Servos has seen it all. First as a television news reporter and producer, her last station being WGAL in Pennsylvania. Next as the executive director of Prosidee Pantry.

“I retired to have kids,” she smiles. I truly believe that all things lined up and God keeps his pledge to us everyday.”

Servos said she, her husband Mark, and children, Harry, Jeri and Danny, moved to Spanish Fort in 2000 when Mark came to work in the area. In 2003, she got a shock.

“I heard someone say that there were no poor people in Spanish Fort,” she recalled. “I knew that was not true.”

Fired up, Servos and two of her friends, Christy Inasinett and Sherrie Lipham, organized a food drive at Spanish Fort United Methodist Church. It was a success, and the little organization began getting help from other area churches and organizations.

The name “Prosidee” comes from two sources, Servos says. The first is the Bible account of the Prodigal Son and the other John Wesley’s concept of “seeing” Christ in the community.

Today, the little organization is a 501(c)3 charity, and has a budget of “between $1.5 and $2 million in Baldwin County,” Servos says. Recently, 882 families came in just one week for assistance.

“That’s up 35 percent from the year before,” she says.

The charity is based out of a former store at 6530 Spanish Fort Blvd.

Servos is the only full-time employee, and the organization has only recently added a part-time office assistant. The charity depends on volunteers to organize the food and get it boxed and ready for the clients.

Servos mentioned that Prosidee recently had some young helpers, pre-school and early elementary age, who could carry one thing at a time to the boxes.

“They were good helpers,” Servos said, adding that a number of groups donate time to the pantry. There’s also a cadre of around 400 volunteers that help out on a regular basis.

“Last year we had more then 15,000 volunteer hours,” said Servos.

While religious in origin and mission, the charity does not discriminate on the basis of faith (or lack of it) or for any other reason.

Servos says the pantry is supported by dozens of area churches of all denominations.

And a number of agencies, including the Council on Aging, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), Legal Services, the Salvation Army, and BARC (Baldwin County Humane Society) have representatives at the pantry to offer assistance.

A number of financial institutions come to offer advice, and after disasters, relief agencies also make a stop because, Servos says, Prosidee is a good place to reach people in need.

Volunteers conduct interviews to make sure that applicants live within the Prosidee service area and not from another area that already has a food bank. They also determine if other services are needed.

“A lot of people think food stamps are for poor people,” Servos said. “It's a hard realization when they learn that they can now get food stamps.”

Servos has noticed that the client demographics are changing.

“People’s perceptions are that we serve the typical indigent man,” Servos said. “We are getting more people who are typical middle-class families — a wide variety of families.”

Prosidee uses an area food bank for its basic supplies, and can turn one dollar into many. But donations of food and money are always needed.

“We encourage local farmers and gardeners to donate their produce, eggs, and bread,” she said.

Gardeners are asked to bring in their produce on Monday mornings, 8 a.m. to noon, and Tuesday mornings before 9 a.m.

Servos estimates that last year, Prosidee received $75,000 worth of donated items.

While there are numerous “success stories” at Prosidee, Servos says that some of the area’s recent disasters have brought back folks that have been helped in the past.

“It’s hard on families. We’ve had Katrina, Ivan and the oil spill,” she said.

At the same time, Servos spoke of a family receiving assistance from Prosidee, who donates their time to help others.

“I know they could use more then they get, but they give of their time to help others. It all seems to mesh.”