The Real Reason This Bachelor Star Is Working At Sam's Club

Those TikToks floating around the internet showing The Bachelor's Matt James stocking Sam's Club's shelves, shockingly sans-face mask? Or the TikTok clip where someone catches Matt James as a Sam's Club employee watching himself on TV instead of working? Or when ends covered by an avalanche of kettle corn?

As it turns out, Matt Jame's isn't flouting COVID-19 safety precautions (the store was next to empty when James was caught on camera). Nor is he hard on his luck, trying to scrape together a bit of extra change on the weekend to take his contestants on dates. As far as we know, he's not trying to save up to put a down payment on a house with a picket fence, either. Instead, James was spotted in the aisles of the discount chain for much the same reason that Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds agreed to do a November 2020 Sam's Club commercial (via Youtube): to promote their own non-profits.

Matt James, alongside his best friend and Bachelor alum, Tyler Cameron, are the forces behind ABC Food Tours, a non-profit launched to "empower students by providing experiences across diverse cultures and career opportunities." And his partnership with Sam's Club? According to Distractify, that's part of a joint project which will provide laptops to low-income families in New York City. In an Instagram post promoting the partnership, James explained that "ABC Food Tours is committed to meeting our students/families where they're at and providing resources necessary to level the playing field."

As part and parcel of the partnerships, Sam's Club has promoted Matt James' Valentine's Day picks on its website. Don't let his picks confuse you. It's not that James thinks that Coco Water is an aphrodisiac. It turns out that the company has also donated to his NGO (via Instagram). And Tide Pods? We're going to go ahead and assume that James learned enough from his stint on The Bachelor to understand that suggesting your romantic partner needs to wear cleaner clothes is ... maybe not the best idea. Sam's Club, meanwhile, has thus far donated 50 laptop computers to ABC Food Tours' students (via Instagram).