Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley have a big reason to celebrate.
On Wednesday, the couple broke ground on The Store, their modern-day version of a food pantry. The couple teamed up with Belmont University for this endeavor. They were on site for the groundbreaking along with Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher. The Store’s Board of Trustees Chair Megan Zarling and The Store’s Trustee member were also there along with architect David Minnigan.
“I’m so excited to be here and see this dream come to fruition. In Nashville, there are one in seven people and one in five children that have food insecurity. That means they don’t know where they are going to get their next meal. The Store will be another resource to help families and individuals going through a hard time but working toward self-sufficiency,” Williams-Paisley says.
Her husband chimed spoke after her adding, “Our goal is to give dignity to parents. They can go to The Store and shop in a completely normal way, from choosing the food to checking out, but with no money exchanging hands. The kids can even ride a mechanical pony out in front of The Store – no charge. Kids do not need the stress of wondering how their parents are going to feed them. In Nashville, we have the power of the benevolence of the residents to support The Store.”
On April 3, they all got together to outline the vision for The Store and even got a few surprises. An artist commissioned a print showing the couple and Dr. Fisher in front of a rendering of the new grocery store. Although the artwork was impressive, attendees got an even bigger surprise when Paisley jumped on the site’s backhoe to officially break ground!
“Belmont’s mission is to challenge students with an education that empowers them to use their talents and skills to engage and transform the world. As an alum, Brad Paisley has certainly achieved that mission and more throughout his career and today’s groundbreaking for The Store marks another milestone in the work he and Kimberly are doing to impact lives for the better,” Belmont University President Dr. Bob Fisher explains. “I am especially grateful that Belmont University has been invited to partner with them in this effort, and our current students and faculty are already laying the groundwork to serve Store patrons through legal aid and health care clinics. This is just the beginning — we anticipate The Store being a significant part of the Belmont community for years to come.”
Find out more about The Store here and watch the entire video of the groundbreaking ceremony above.
The construction is expected to be done by the end of 2019. If you’re interested in donating to the project, you can do so here.