An area food bank is one of seven finalists for a $500,000 grant from the Minnesota Twins.

Channel One Regional food bank is competing for the All-Star Fans Choose grant, part of the MLB All-Star weekend celebration. Funds are being sought to help fund Channel One’s warehouse expansion and renovation project.

This necessary warehouse expansion will nearly double dry storage capacity, increase freezer and cooler capacity by 50 percent and add a teaching kitchen and community classroom.

Voting is online, and concludes on July 10. The winner is determined by popular vote, and people are encouraged to vote for Channel One every day for the next four weeks. Channel One is the only organization outside of the Twin Cities metro area to be named a finalist.

The food shelf serves programs and agencies in counties like Faribault, Waseca, Rice, Goodhue, Wabasha, Steele, Dodge, Olmsted, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore, Winona and Houston counties in Minnesota and La Crosse County in Wisconsin.