Host a ball, following food (9)
I believe the answer is:
abundance
'host' is the definition.
(both can mean a large number)
'a ball following food' is the wordplay.
'ball' becomes 'dance' (ball can mean an event for dancing).
'following' says to put letters next to each other.
'food' becomes 'bun' (bun is a kind of food).
'dance' after 'bun' is 'bundance'.
'a'+'bundance'='ABUNDANCE'
(Other definitions for abundance that I've seen before include "Profusion, richness" , "Host" , "bid in solo whist" , "Plenty, profusion" , "Plentiful supply" .)