Father turned up with little desire for food (8)
I believe the answer is:
appetite
'desire for food' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'father turned up with little' is the wordplay.
'father' becomes 'pa' (pa can mean dad or father).
'turned up' says the letters should be written backwards.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'little' becomes 'petite' (similar in meaning).
'pa' back-to-front is 'ap'.
'ap'+'petite'='APPETITE'
(Other definitions for appetite that I've seen before include "'Strong desire, craving (8)'" , "stomach" , "desire to take courses" , "Natural craving" , "Hunger; desire" .)