WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 9, 2007--Dole Food Company, Inc., today announced the Company is collaborating with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (AHG), a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation.

"We're proud to join efforts with the Alliance to help promote the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption," said David DeLorenzo, president and chief executive officer of Dole Food Company, Inc. Dole is the first and only produce company to sign the Alliance's Memorandum of Understanding, a set of industry guidelines governing competitive foods offered for sale within schools. Dole's longstanding position as children's nutrition leader has been built on such programs as Dole 5-A-Day, a 16-year, nation-wide outreach to 17,000 schools, 44,000 teachers and a million kids (dolesuperkids.com).

The Dole Nutrition Institute helps educate parents and consumers through a variety of channels ranging from videos, brochures, newsletters and websites (dolenutrition.com and dolesuperfoods.com).
Dole has recently collaborated with School Link Technologies and the National Dairy Council on a pilot program for the placement of vending machines in schools. All of the products chosen for the vending machines are USDA approved and reimbursable under its guidelines.

The Dole Nutrition Institute will collaborate with the Alliance on school demonstration projects that promote student acceptability of fruits and vegetables, provide food service staff with training on preparing and serving healthier food items, and communicate recommended nutritional practices within the educational setting and to parents. The Alliance will foster Dole's cross-collaboration with other signatory companies to provide as broad support as possible to the Alliance's Healthy Schools Program, with a focus on services offered to low socioeconomic status schools, in addressing childhood obesity via foods served and for sale in schools. The Alliance will work with Dole to increase fruit and vegetable availability in school sites where this need has been identified.

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2006 revenues of $6.2 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged foods and frozen fruit and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

The William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association partnered in May of 2005 to create a new generation of healthy Americans by addressing one of the nation's leading public health threats -- childhood obesity. The goal of the Alliance is to stop the nationwide increase in childhood obesity by 2010, and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. The Alliance will positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child's health: homes; schools; restaurants; doctor's offices; and the community. For more information on the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, please visit: www.HealthierGeneration.org.

This release contains "forward-looking statements," within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward looking statements, which are based on management's current expectations, are generally identifiable by the use of terms such as "may," "will," "expects," "believes," "intends" and similar expressions. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied herein include weather-related phenomena; market responses to industry volume pressures; product and raw materials supplies and pricing; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; economic crises and security risks in developing countries; international conflict; and quotas, tariffs and other governmental actions. Further information on the factors that could affect Dole's financial results is included in its SEC filings, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K.

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CONTACT: Dole Food Company, Inc.
Marty Ordman, 818-874-4834

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD SPORTS MEDICAL FOODS/BEVERAGES RETAIL PRODUCT
SOURCE: Dole Food Company, Inc.

Copyright Business Wire 2007

Dole Food Inc.

Dole Food Inc.

Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2005 revenues of $5.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research.

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