At a time when climate change, urbanization, and a growing and evolving global population are together putting tremendous stresses on the world’s water and food supplies, solutions-oriented research addressing these most basic human needs is essential. It is an urgent challenge, and the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is supporting solutions. J-WAFS is an Institute-wide effort that fuels research, innovation, and institutional collaboration focused on water and food systems to meet human needs. Through early-stage research grants, support for technology commercialization, sponsored research management, student funding and mentorship, and events that convene local and global experts, J-WAFS leverages the world-class resources for which MIT is known. Our objective is to advance knowledge and innovation to create resilient systems that can deliver safe and adequate supplies of water and food for our changing world.