June 27: Kaptur Welcomed Mr. Luc Peeters, Manager of Sustainability & External Relations at Mechelen Auctions of Belgium

On June 27, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and other regional & local leaders welcomed Mr. Luc Peeters, Manager of Sustainability & External Relations at Mechelen Auctions of Belgium. During the day, they met to discuss ways local growers could maximize production and partner with local retailers. With concerns about food quality and increasing costs, many Americans are looking to buy locally grown produce; an opportunity where our local greenhouse industry hopes to increase their market share.

Mr. Peeters explained how the Mechelen Auctions co-operative of over 2,500 gardeners work together to place their product with retailers in the region. The auction creates uniformity for prices, quality control and terms of payment that benefit both local growers and retailers. The co-operative auction generates over 200 Euros ($289 million dollars) per year.

Congresswoman Kaptur, Mr. Peeters and many others from the community also visited the Oneida Street Gardens that day to kick-off efforts for a Toledo Grows urban training center.