For the food, I lay out (6)
I believe the answer is:
plaice
'i lay out' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are singular nouns, I don't see how they can define each other.
'for the food' is the wordplay.
'for' becomes 'pla' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'the food' becomes 'ice' (ice is a kind of food).
'pla'+'ice'='PLAICE'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for plaice that I've seen before include "Location of the fish" , "Flat fare" , "A succulent flat-fish" , "Type of fish" , "A fish; sounds like put" .)