In December 2019, the UN General Assembly designated September 29 as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, a joint initiative of the FAO and UNEP, first observed in 2020. Nearly a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted each year, whether during production, harvest, storage, and transport, or at the retail and consumer level, even as hundreds of millions of people suffer from hunger and malnutrition. This waste also carries significant environmental costs, depleting natural resources and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. The day aims to mobilize global action to reduce food loss and waste across the entire supply chain, through better storage and transport practices, consumer awareness about responsible purchasing and consumption, and support for initiatives that redistribute surplus food to those in need.