You could also drive around and chat up and ask other gardeners. Or farmers in your areas. It really depends on local climate and soil.
As for community, ideally you'd find people first who actually know what they are doing and can teach you a little.
In a temperate zone for example, you need about 250m² of potatoes to grow enough calories to survive (this is my math, please don't trust this blindly). Plus vegetables of course. But calories are easier to buy than vegetables.