Like getting in quiet word of thanks for the food (5)
I believe the answer is:
pasta
'the food' is the definition.
(pasta is a kind of food)
'like getting in quiet word of thanks' is the wordplay.
'like' becomes 'as'.
'getting in' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'quiet' becomes 'p' (music symbol for 'piano').
'word of thanks' becomes 'ta'.
'p'+'ta'='pta'
'as' going within 'pta' is 'PASTA'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for pasta that I've seen before include "Spaghetti, perhaps" , "Spaghetti, ziti, fusilli, for example" , "eg Macaroni" , "dish from Italy" , "dish that's Italian" .)