It’s not just people who are feeling the impact of the government shutdown — it’s animals, too.

Pets are at risk of going hungry as families struggle with the loss of SNAP benefits. The MSPCA-Angell says demand for pet food has skyrocketed as SNAP benefits remain frozen.

“We are seeing a really big increase in the number of families that are turning to us asking for pet food,” said Alyssa Krieger, director of community outreach for MSPCA-Angell.

As families wait for SNAP benefits during the government shutdown, Taco Azul and other restaurants are stepping up to the plate.

Krieger says her team is working in overdrive, hosting pop-up pet food pantries across Massachusetts, including one Friday at the organization’s headquarters in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.

In an average month, the MSPCA-Angell distributes about 275,000 pet meals. Now, they need roughly 22,000 more every week just to keep up. That’s an extra $6,000 in costs.

“We want to make sure that families are not making a decision between feeding their pets and feeding themselves,” Krieger said.

The MSPCA is teaming up with Dakin Humane Society in Springfield to reach even more families.

Food donations can be dropped off at shelters statewide or purchased through online wish lists.

To find out where to donate or to get help yourself, visit the MSPCA’s website.

Now, a plan to prevent that from happening again is in limbo, after the city’s application for a $10 million grant to build a berm and flood wall was denied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency earlier this fall following six years of collaborative planning.

Ten months into a Trump administration where climate-related funds and programs have been targeted for cancellation or clawbacks, the rejection of a climate-related grant doesn’t come as a surprise.

It’s the framing of the rejection that caught city planners off guard.

The stated reason? FEMA cites Boston’s failure to respond to concerns raised by the federal agency — an accusation the city and locals engaged in the yearslong application process say just isn’t true. The concerns raised in the letter, including the technical feasibility of the project and its ability to mitigate flood risk, had already been addressed, they say.

“That is gaslighting,” Steve Hollinger, a Fort Point resident and longtime advocate for a sustainable neighborhood, said of the government response. “I think it’s obvious that they are casting blame intentionally.”

The plan — to build a 2,300-foot berm and flood wall with $10 million of city funds and $10 million from the federal government — was first hatched in 2019, in the wake of those devastating 2018 storms.

In response to FEMA’s rejection letter, Brian Swett, the city’s chief of environment, energy and open space, sent a letter outlining the various ways all of FEMA’s concerns had already been addressed.

“Given the risk of inaction to life, safety, property, and critical infrastructure, we are providing the attached summary of the recent and extensive coordination with FEMA and its consultant to provide you with confidence that issues raised in that analysis have been addressed,” he wrote.

Now, with a government shutdown, it’s not clear whether FEMA will reconsider its decision, which the agency said had been final.

Inquiries sent to the regional FEMA office and to its national headquarters were responded to with automatically generated messages indicating that inquiries would be responded to “once the government funding lapse is resolved.”

Even as the plans sit in limbo, the city and neighborhood advocates have continued to meet to discuss next steps. The memory of those 2018 storms remains fresh.

When the storms hit, they were a sign of what the city knew was coming. Two years earlier, a city report, called “Climate Ready Boston” had warned that coastal flooding was among the most significant climate risks facing the city. But in the intervening years — and in the years following those 2018 storms — development in the Fort Point and Seaport neighborhoods boomed.

A flood wall wouldn’t solve all of the area’s flooding problems, but it would buy the area time while developers along the coastline beefed up properties and completed plans to build climate-ready real estate.

What’s more, the protections from the structure would extend beyond the neighborhood. As sea levels continue to rise and storms get stronger with climate change, modeling shows that the Fort Point Channel is a flood entry pathway for larger areas of South Boston.

“This shoreline somehow has to find its way to be protected, because it [Fort Point] is lower than what’s across the channel,” said Tom Ready, a board member of the Fort Point Neighborhood Association. “The water is just going to spill into the neighborhood.”

The structure would extend along the southeast edge of the Fort Point Channel, roughly between Necco Street and Dorchester Avenue. The project would also include deployable flood walls that could be added during high-risk events and later removed.

For six years, the city corresponded monthly with FEMA, working on the project’s specs, ensuring the city was taking into account all possible flood paths — of which there are several — before committing to this solution.

“The objective was that our project would be in the ground and completed within probably two years,” said Richard McGuinness, deputy director for climate change and environmental planning at the city of Boston’s Planning Department.

Now, it’s not clear what will happen, but the city is considering its next steps.

Hopefully, city officials say, FEMA will reconsider its decision in light of their response. If not, they may have to make due with having just half the budget, and figure out a plan b.

“We are actively looking at alternatives to provide near-term flood protection for the Fort Point neighborhood, that would be paid for by the city and be built in the short term,” said Christopher Osgood, Boston’s director of the Office of Climate Resilience.

Tom Ready, in Fort Point, said it’s a huge disappointment to be so close to the finish, after so many years of work, and have the application rejected. But he also said it wasn’t a surprise.

“We just view it as, you know, just another in the long line of problems that the state of Massachusetts and the city of Boston is having with the Trump administration,” he said.

Sabrina Shankman can be reached at sabrina.shankman@globe.com.

Boston will be facing off against Washington tonight.

The Boston Celtics and the Washington Wizards will play inside of TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, this evening, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025.

The Celtics are No. 12 in Eastern Conference standing, with three wins and five losses this season. The Wizards are No. 14 in Eastern Conference and have a season record of one win and six losses.

Celtics star player Jayson Tatum is still sidelined due to his Achilles tendon rupturing in the second round of the NBA playoffs this past summer. That being said, Shams Charania of ESPN said he has not been ruled out this season.

Here’s what you need to know about tonight’s game.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Celtics game tonight

You can watch tonight’s game on NBC Sports Boston.

You can also stream it on Fubo.

Watch the Celtics on Fubo!

Can I listen to the Celtics game on radio?

Yes, you can. To listen to Wednesday’s Celtics game on the radio, tune in to 98.5 FM The Sports Hub at the time of tip-off, as 98.5 is the flagship station of the Boston franchise, according to their website.

“Occasionally when scheduling conflicts arise, select games can be heard live on ROCK 92.9,” the Sports Hub website said.

If you live in Providence, you can listen to coverage of the game on WPRV 790 AM.

Celtics guard Jaylen Brown scores 26.8 points per game on average as well as 4.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists during this season.

Brown also shoots 38.0% behind the arc.

Celtics guard Payton Pritchard scores 15.0 points per game on average as well as 4.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists so far this season.

Pritchard shoots 21.3% behind the arc.

Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.