Good morning, Hopkinton! Welcome to the daily update we call Hopkinton Today — a quick recap of yesterday’s news, highlights of what’s on tap, and a photo of the day.

Pantry sees steady increase in need as federal SNAP funding shifts

Project Just Because still can support area families as federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program loom, according to a representative.

“We’ve been able to make space in our database and accept clients from all over the place,” said Ashley DaSilva, PJB’s warehouse director and multilingual interpreter. She said need has continued to grow, and the organization is seeing up to 15 new clients every week.

“Everybody that does have SNAP now … they’re all starting to see it’s starting to dwindle down,” said DaSilva.

Federal changes to the SNAP program, included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year, go into effect Oct. 1. States now will be responsible for 75% of the program’s administrative costs when historically that burden was shared equally. New eligibility requirements also are expected to force more people off of food stamps.

The shift in funding is expected to cost the state an additional $53 million in the next year. Cuts come at a time when about 40% of households in Massachusetts experience food insecurity, according to Project Bread.

DaSilva said that PJB has been preparing for the change and has been working with regional partners to maintain its stock. She shared that PJB works with other nonprofits such as the Greater Boston Food Bank, Provisions Ministry, Spoonfuls and Boston Area Gleaners to source food and other necessities.

“Their partnership is what drastically helps us with the amount of people that keep coming,” she said.

Demand has been going up steadily, DaSilva noted. She said PJB now serves over 900 families a week, but those population numbers were impacted for a time by the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

To keep up with the increasing numbers, the pantry has hired an additional, part-time food lead, said DaSilva.

“The more hands we have the better,” she said, noting most of the pantry’s labor is done by volunteers.

“We do need a lot more hands,” she added.

— NICK SCHOFIELD

Latest News

Engineers from CMTA met with the School Committee Thursday to discuss the need to replace the 27-year-old HVAC system at Hopkinton High School.

The School Committee on Thursday selected FutureThink to conduct a three-year enrollment study as the district’s school population has been slowing down.

The Permanent Building Committee learned on Thursday about issues with rust on the slate roof of Center School and sought more detail about its integrity.

Crews are scheduled to be out on Main Street this week resetting pavers and conducting granite curb work in the corridor.

Richard Rizza, 83, of Hopkinton died Sept. 17.

Town meetings tonight include the Hopkinton cultural district forum (6), Board of Health (6) and Planning Board (7).

Photo of the Day

Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty (right) stands by as a fire department member unclogs a drain in a retention pond at Legacy Farms North on Sunday to alleviate flooding that impacted residents nearby.

PHOTO/HOPKINTON FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL 3772