Parent’s thanks for Italian food (5)
I believe the answer is:
pasta
'italian food' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'parent's thanks' is the wordplay.
'parent's' becomes 'pas' (pa is a kind of parent).
'thanks' becomes 'ta' (UK informal version of 'thank you').
'pas'+'ta'='PASTA'
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for pasta that I've seen before include "Flour and water foodstuff" , "Staple Italian food base" , "Fusilli, penne etc" , "Italian foodstuff" , "Spaghetti, orzo etc" .)