Construction on Brad Paisley‘s nonprofit grocery store, appropriately called The Store, is officially underway. The singer shared the good news on social media, along with a photo of himself operating a backhoe.
“We broke ground today on The Store in Nashville!!” Paisley captioned the picture. “Or more specifically, I did, in this backhoe. And no one was hurt!”
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The singer also gave fans an opportunity participate in his latest project.
“There are a lot of ways to be a part of this new charity,” he added. “Go to thestore.org to find out how you can help!”
Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, got the idea for The Store while on vacation in Santa Barbara, California, with their sons, Huck and Jasper. After feeling like their two children were acting spoiled, the parents took them to volunteer at a place called the Unity Shoppe, where people can receive food and necessities as well as job training.
“It was inspiring because these people have dignity,” Paisley told The Tennessean. “It’s not a scene from Oliver Twist. These people are able to sit there and feel very, very normal in the eyes of their kids. I remember … thinking, ‘Why isn’t this everywhere?’ Essentially, we got this idea that it could be a very effective thing in Nashville.”
Paisley and his wife felt especially drawn to open The Store because of the problems they see in their own hometown.
“Hunger and food insecurity is a real issue in Nashville,” Williams-Paisley told The Tennessean. “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 Store will operate just like a regular store, but without the need for any cash.
“We really want to get people before this is a major crisis,” Williams-Paisley said. “We want to help people in this gap where they are trying to get back on their feet.”
The Paisleys are determined to make the process at The Store easy and shame-free for everyone, with children at the forefront of their minds. Even a toy mechanical bull that will be outside of The Store will be free.
“[It] takes away the sting of embarrassment for a parent who maybe feels that way because they can’t feed their kid,” Paisely said. “The kids should not know what their parent is going through. That’s not stress a child needs.”
The Store will be located on the campus of Belmont University, Paisley’s alma mater, and will be operated in partnership with the college. To make a donation, visit TheStore.org.
Paisley will soon after oversee construction of The Store from afar, when he hits the road on his World Tour on May 3, with Chris Lane and Riley Green serving as his opening acts. Find dates at BradPaisley.com.
Photo Credit: Getty images/Roy Rochlin
