Young people gathered at one of the nation's most popular food justice leadership trainings talk about the change they want to see in their communities.

Under the partial cover of Center City Park’s wooden pavilion, youth performers steered colossal pole puppets — faceless gray suits symbolizing big oil, giant fists in shades of brown labeled “People power” and “El poder de la gente,” and vibrant flags representing wind, air and sun — but not before a proper introduction.

About 100 high school youth from community and out-of-school organizations gathered along with their adult allies in Greensboro, North Carolina, this past weekend for a conference on food systems and inequality. The local group hosting the conference was the Food Youth Initiative, a project of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems.