Country star Brad Paisley breaks ground on free grocery store in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Country star Brad Paisley broke ground on a grocery store that will offer free items to people in need.

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The Store is a partnership between Paisley and his alma mater Belmont University.

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It will be located on the school’s campus and operate like a regular grocery store, except when people scan items no money is exchanged.

"(This model) takes away the sting of embarrassment for a parent who maybe feels that way because they can't feed their kid," Paisley said. "The kids should not know what their parent is going through. That's not stress a child needs."

Paisley and his wife, actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley, got the idea after volunteering with their children at a similar store in California.

“Hunger and food insecurity is a real issue in Nashville,” Williams-Paisley said. “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.”

At The Store, even the mechanical horse out front is free.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Cox Media Group