WESTLAKE VILLAGE, California - May 09, 2002

Dole Food Company, Inc. (NYSE: DOL) will hold its 2002 Annual Meeting of Stockholders at 10:00 a.m. (local time) on Thursday, May 16, 2002, at Dole World Headquarters, One Dole Drive, Westlake Village, California.

The Annual Meeting will be webcast live and may be accessed on the company's website at www.dole.com. The webcast will begin promptly at 1:00 p.m. (ET). A webcast audio replay of the Annual Meeting will also be archived through 5:00 p.m. (ET), May 31, 2002, on the company's website at www.dole.com.

Dole Food Company, Inc. with 2001 revenues of $4.5 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and fresh-cut flowers, and markets a growing line of packaged foods.