Country stars care, y’all. Brad Paisley- he of the “Nationwide is on your side” commercials with Eli Manning (yeah, you’re singing the jingle now too, sorry about that) and the catchy ditty “Ticks” (which, let’s face it, describes just about every backwoods, Minnesota love story ever)- hopped behind the controls of a backhoe to break ground on what will become a free grocery store for Nashville families in need.
It was the brainchild of his wife, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, who got the idea after she and their children volunteered at a similar store in California.
Paisley says it’s to “take away the sting” of embarrassment for parents who may be struggling to feed their family. The store will operate like a real grocery store and families will be able to shop for what they need and “check out” by having their items scanned, but no money will be exchanged.
“The kids should not know what their parent is going through,” Paisley said. “That’s not stress a child needs.”