 Every day, tons of food is lost or wasted while more and more people go hungry This can't go on COVID-19 has put at risk global value chains showing us just how fragile our food systems are The pandemic's financial shocks have pushed millions more into hunger The crisis is a global wake-up call to transform the way we produce and handle our food and to reduce food loss and waste Reducing food loss and waste from farm to plate can strengthen food systems and benefit society as a whole Food loss occurs at every step along the food supply chain from farms to food processing and distribution levels the highest levels of losses occurring during harvest, transportation and storage Food waste occurs in retail and at consumer level The latest global estimates show that around 14% of food is lost before we even have the chance to buy it To reduce food loss and waste, we need to know where it occurs and why and what interventions will be most effective in each context Improvements in the supply chain to reduce food losses must seek to increase its efficiency and to generate economic, social and environmental benefit We need stronger action and each one of us needs to make informed and balanced choices Governments must facilitate private sector investments to reduce food losses and waste Private actors in the food supply chain must share knowledge and implement good practices to reduce food loss and waste while improving food donation efforts to feed the needy Academia and research institutions must continue developing innovations to reduce food loss and waste Every consumer can avoid unnecessary food waste by storing their food better learning how to interpret product date labels and planning their grocery shopping and meals in advance Working together to reduce food loss and waste, we can transform our food systems and improve the health of people and our planet Let's end food loss and waste today