Philip Spencer

Philip Spencer is Head of Development for Alnwick Garden. This is a charity based in Northumberland, and one of its charitable aims is to improve the well-being of children and others by teaching them how to grow vegetables in its Roots and Shoots garden. Philip approached the Jamie Oliver Foundation to ask if they would be interested in developing a Ministry of Food centre in the Garden, so that they could complete the cycle - people could not only learn how to grow nutritious vegetables, but learn how to cook them as well. Philip has been the main person pushing through the Ministry of Food development. This initiative will be important long-term, because it will help shift perceptions from "just a garden" to a garden with a social purpose, and help to develop its charitable impact even further.