I would LOVE it if those that dwell in the suburbs would put those "postage stamp size" plots to good use:) I recall, though, reading an article in the Sacramento Bee a few years ago where a woman had turned her front lawn into a beautiful vegetable garden. & her garden was PRETTY! Well the HOA didn't care for it, she had to take it out due to CC&R's. I believe, though that with most HOA's, the BACK yard is yours to do with what you will:)
Start small, experiment, it's FUN, and home-grown produce is SO far superior to store-bought(even the "organic").
I need to figure out how to iodize our garden & fruit trees.... :)