Two in three children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years are not getting the nutrients and food they need for healthy growth and development (UNICEF, 2023). Our food systems are major drivers of this problem. Current food systems processes, such as production, farming, processing and global supply chains, are affecting the health of people and further driving the climate crisis. The world’s population is projected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050, and the current food production system will not be able to meet the increased demand for food without significant improvements in efficiency and productivity. Updated projections of the number of undernourished people suggest that nearly 670 million people will still be undernourished in 2030. This projection has increased by 78 million more people because of the COVID-19 pandemic (FAO et al., 2022). Resources such as water and land are becoming increasingly scarce, and traditional methods of food production are causing environmental degradation and resource depletion. Furthermore, up to one-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted. Global warming and its impacts such as more frequent extreme weather events, like drought, flooding and storms, pose a serious threat to food security and are making it necessary to improve the climate resilience, efficiency and productivity of the food system. The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region1 is also struggling with challenges to food security. Many countries of the NENA region are heavily dependent on imported foodstuffs and fertilizers from the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The current war in Ukraine puts the region at risk of a reduced food supply from the Russian Federation and Ukraine as well at the same time that food prices are increasing as a result of the disturbances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Near East and North Africa Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2022, nearly one-third of the NENA region’s population, accounting for 154 million people, experienced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2021, which is an increase of more than 12 million people from the previous year. The region will need a set of integrated interventions on the supply and demand side of the food system