starve (someone or something) of (something)
To withhold some commodity or resource from someone or something to the detriment of that person or thing. Often used in passive constructions. The authoritarian government has been accused of starving its citizens of essential services in order to maximize how much money can be invested in its military. The hotel has been starved of short-term staff ever since the local college closed. The president, unable to ban the clinics due to the constitution, has instead opted to starve them of funds and impose intense restrictions on how they are allowed to operate.
starve of
v. To deprive someone or something of some resource, resulting in its depletion: Doctors tried to destroy the cancerous cells by starving them of oxygen. The agency has been starved of money by people in Congress who oppose it.
of
sorts/a sort1. Of a mediocre or inferior kind: a constitutional government of a sort.
2. Of one kind or another: knew many folktales of sorts.