Answer:
Well we don’t necessarily know very much background information on how sick Elie’s father is. So we are gonna make a educated guess. Well most likely is that Ellie’s father is to sick to be given food because there is a scarce chance of him surviving. But also the food supply also might of been low and scarce,so that is also a possibility.
Hope this helps!
Yours Truely, TheAnimeCatUwU