Supporting Ottawa Families: Our Olive Oil Donation to the Children's Center

Ever wish you could put the energy kids have in a bottle? Behind that boundless enthusiasm are parents, caregivers and childhood development professionals doing their best to help children learn, play and grow.

During the day, many parents head to work and entrust their children to places like Ottawa's Children's Center. Its staff put care into the meals and snacks they prepare, just as families do at home. But good ingredients cost money, and every bit of practical support can help.

Because every kid deserves care, we wanted to do our part.

Giving Greek extra virgin olive oil to our Ottawa community

In 2016, Ilias and Sons donated bottles of our extra virgin olive oil to Ottawa's Children's Center at Hilson Avenue Public School. It was a simple way to contribute something we know and love: good olive oil for the kitchen.

We loved the Children's Center's child-centred approach. Like the wider school community, its staff worked to nurture young minds, and we wanted to support the people doing that everyday work.

From our family to the centre's kitchen

Our donation gave the kitchen team another ingredient to use in its meals and snacks. Extra virgin olive oil can bring flavour to vegetables, dressings and home-style dishes. The important part of this story was not a promise about any particular health outcome; it was making an ingredient available at no cost to the centre.

Our Gourmet Organic Original Blend Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil reflects the connection between our Greek family traditions and the food we share here in Ottawa. Supporting local families felt like a natural extension of that connection.

Why supporting local matters to us

Community is built through ordinary acts of care. A parent packing a lunch, a caregiver preparing a snack, a kitchen team finding ways to make good food within a budget: all of those efforts matter.

We could not do the centre's work for it. What we could do was share an ingredient and help a little. That was the spirit of this donation, and it remains the part of the story we are proudest of.

Sometimes supporting your local community does not need to be complicated. It starts with asking what you can contribute and making it useful to the people around you.

A donation story worth remembering

This article records our 2016 donation, not an announcement of an ongoing programme. We have refreshed the wording while keeping its original purpose: celebrating the people who care for local children and the small ways a family business can support them.

Good food belongs in the kitchen. Generosity belongs in the community. We were glad to bring a little of both to the Children's Center.

To learn more about our food traditions, explore our Mediterranean diet and family guide. For local shopping options, visit Where to Find Us.