America's Second Harvest and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation Each Receive $100,000 Donation From Office Depot at Local Florida Ceremony.

Business Editors

DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2004

In-Kind Donations Reflect the Successful Completion of the

Company's Holiday Campaigns Benefiting Children

At a special ceremony on Wednesday, January 14th, Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), one of the world's largest resellers of office products, will present both America's Second Harvest and the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation with checks for $100,000. The donations will be used during 2004 for programs specifically tailored to underprivileged children.

"Office Depot is committed to partnering with organizations that make a meaningful difference in the lives of children," said Bruce Nelson, Chairman and CEO of Office Depot, who will host the event at the company's headquarters in Delray Beach (located at 2100 South Congress Avenue) beginning at 11:00 a.m.

According to America's Second Harvest, Office Depot is one of only 50 companies in the U.S. recognized by the organization as a "Hunger Hero." Additionally, Office Depot is one of the top five corporate sponsors who support Toys for Tots. (The company has partnered with both organizations since 2001.)

America's Second Harvest Campaign

In November, Office Depot challenged America's Second Harvest donors to match the company's grant of $100,000. The response, according to Nelson, was overwhelming - with more than 10,000 individuals participating in the Office Depot matching gift challenge, raising additional funds in the amount of $578,834.

The $100,000 matching challenge grant will be presented to Michael Halligan, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Logistics for America's Second Harvest.

In addition to the monetary donation, Office Depot also launched an in-store "Hunger Has a Face" campaign at all of the company's retail stores in the U.S. and Canada. The campaign offered customers the opportunity to support America's Second Harvest by contributing $1, $5 and $10 at check out. The campaign, now in its second year, helps raise funds and build awareness of the chronic problem of hunger throughout North America.

According to Mary Wong, Director of Community Relations for Office Depot, all funds raised and contributed by Office Depot will be used to provide meals to children during the summer months, when children don't have access to school-based meal programs.

"We are pleased to continue our support of America's Second Harvest, an organization that makes a difference for so many all year long," Wong said.

According to Robert Forney, President and CEO for America's Second Harvest, although hunger tends to have a higher profile during the holiday season, it exists year-round.

"Fortunately for us, Office Depot recognizes the chronic problem of hunger, and is successfully reaching out in the community to help resolve this problem," Forney said. "We are grateful for their tremendous support, generosity and genuine commitment to eliminating hunger for children."

The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation Program

Another holiday campaign benefiting children is Office Depot's Marine Toys for Tots Foundation program, which entailed the sale of a collectible stuffed bear (appropriately named "Teddy B. Caring") at Office Depot retail stores throughout the U.S. The $100,000 donation, which will be presented to Retired Marine Corps Major and Vice President for the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, Bill Grein, is the result of proceeds received from the sale of the bear.

According to Wong, the $100,000 donation is two-fold: a portion of the donation will be used toward toys purchased for 10-14 year old children during the 2003 holiday season, and will also help Toys for Tots purchase toys in 2004 as well.

"Office Depot is one of our most loyal and dedicated corporate sponsors," noted Grein. "We are proud to partner with them; they are truly a role model for corporate philanthropy and make such a difference in the lives of children each and every day."

Grein added that to commemorate the donation, two 6-foot replicas of Teddy B. Caring were created. During the ceremony, the bears will be donated to the Delray Beach Public Library and the Boca Raton Public Library. Both Mayor, Jeff Perlman and Vice Mayor Jon Levinson of Delray Beach Vice and Councilman Dave Freudenberg of Boca Raton, as well as representatives from each library, will attend the event and accept the bears.

About America's Second Harvest

America's Second Harvest is the nation's largest domestic hunger-relief organization with a national network of more than 200 regional food banks and food-rescue programs, serving all 50 states and Puerto Rico, which distributes 1.4 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually. The America's Second Harvest network supports approximately 50,000 local charitable agencies, operating more than 94,000 food programs, including food pantries, soup kitchens, women's shelters, Kids Cafes, Community Kitchens, and local organizations that provide food assistance to 23 million hungry Americans, including nine million children and over two million seniors each year. For more information, log on to www.secondharvest.org.

About Marine Toys for Tots Foundation

The Toys for Tots program began in 1947. In 2003, more than 12.9 million toys were distributed to over 5.7 million children around the country, thanks to the donations and corporate support of businesses and individuals across the U.S.

About Office Depot

With annual sales of nearly $13 billion, no one sells more office products to more customers in more countries than Office Depot. Founded in 1986 and headquartered in Delray Beach, Fla., the company conducts business in 22 countries and employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide.

Office Depot is an industry leader in every distribution channel - from retail stores and contract delivery to catalogs and e-commerce. The company is the world's number two online retailer - on target to generate $2.5B in sales for FY'03.

In North America, Office Depot has more than 870 retail stores in addition to a national business-to-business delivery network supported by 24 delivery centers, more than 60 local sales offices and 13 regional call centers.

The company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ODP and is included in the S&P 500 Index.

Recently, Office Depot was recognized in BusinessWeek as the country's 11th most generous in-kind giver as a percentage of revenues.

Additional press information can be found at: http://mediarelations.officedepot.com.