Here is an interesting article and video in the WSJ about people in urban areas turning their front yards and those of their neighbors into mini-farms. Just dig up the grass, get out the tiller, purchase a tiny combine and get to farmin'.

I guess that's kind of what I did to my front yard, but I don't live in a zoned neighborhood with neighbors fifteen inches from me. Not a bad idea though. Most yards are a waste of space and resources. Might as well get something useful out of them.

Rather than just tilling up the whole yard, it would be more aesthetically pleasing and more acceptable to the Joneses to leave some of the familiar landscaping in place and insert edible plants here and there. Instead of bushes alongside your house you could have a row of mustard or basil. Instead of a walkway lined with monkeygrass, grow small hot peppers, etc.