Andrew Chin/Getty ImagesBrad Paisley is opening up about the impact of The Store in the ABC News special, The Year: 2020.
In March, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Brad and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley opened a free grocery store in Nashville to help families experiencing food insecurity. At the time, Brad’s World Tour had just been shut down due to the pandemic, leaving him fearful of the unknown.
“I found myself really scared in the beginning of this. It really hit me that a lot of people were probably going to die,” he confides to host Robin Roberts. “The sadness of that hit me pretty hard.”
But the tragedy inspired the singer and his wife to open The Store as a way to support families in need. In September, the couple participated in the Million Meals Donation Tour in collaboration with Feeding America to donate meals to local food banks across the country.
Brad says the initiative restored his sense of hope and purpose.
“When we’re delivering food or doing something that’s helping, I feel less helpless,” he says. “For me, it was all about trying to find something that really felt like we were going to get through this.”
Hear more from Brad when The Year airs tonight on ABC at 9 p.m. ET.
By Cillea Houghton
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