I'm actually the same way. Food is the very last thing on my list after I shell up for the night. When I'm drinking kava during the day (rare...like...exceedingly rare), I mix lighter, and I'll add something with fat after a shell about 20 minutes or so to boost the effects.
I tend to get munchy 20-30 minutes after my kava intake. Many on the forum recommend a little fat or dairy to have the kava kick up a notch. In my experience a little cheese is perfect.
My kava usage usually comes before the last meal of the day. After drinking kava, that last meal doesn't always happen and I have to really force myself to eat. Cheese is a great option, though...
Too early for what? Most of us don't eat because having food in your stomach lessens the effects of Kava. However, I've found that once you have a krunk going, food doesn't really lessen the effects for me. I will try and drink most of the kava I intend to drink prior to eating. This usually means my last meal of the day is around 8pm. I will still have a shell or two after this, but for the most part I will drink my kava before this.
It's funny because I've totally revamped my eating schedule to account for drinking kava. I'll eat lunch around 2 or 2:30 so that I'm ready for some good kava drinking around 5ish, but I'm not starving to death.
I am the odd one here, I usually skip the lunch so I get really great effects from my kava. I generally start drinking kava around 4:30 p.m. and drink till dinner around 8-9o p.m. and usually eat right away with no ill effects or loss of effects too much. I like to get the most from my kava budget and am usually starving by the time dinner rolls around.