Country Star Brad Paisley Just Broke Ground on a Free Grocery Store
Last week country star Brad Paisley began construction on a free supermarket in Nashville, Tennessee.
The market will be run like any other, only at check-out, no cash will be exchanged. The goal of the market is to help families who are struggling with food insecurity to access food in a dignified way.
The country singer and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, decided to bring this project to Nashville after they volunteered with their kids at a similar store in Santa Barbara, California.
“Hunger and food insecurity is a real issue in Nashville.” Explained Williams-Paisley “One in seven people deal with food insecurity. That means they don’t know where their next meal is coming from. And it’s even worse for kids, one in five children.”
The supermarket – named “The Store”– is in partnership with Belmont University, which the country star is an alumnus of.
It will be located on campus, and students will volunteer there- working at checkout and stocking the shelves. The Store will be near a bus stop in order to make it convenient and accessible.
“We want to help people in this gap where they are trying to get back on their feet,” Williams-Paisley stated.
The couple explained that a supermarket allows parents to walk in and receive food in a dignified manner, without their children feeling the physical and emotional stresses of food insecurity.
Eventually, the couple hopes to add additional services, such as job training as well as cooking and nutrition classes.
The Store is expected to open by the end of the year and will serve approximately 3,000 people in the nearby communities.
