Where most people would see a fixer-upper house along a busy Des Moines street, Polk County Farm Bureau members Eric and Jenny Quiner envisioned a different future to unite their community.

The Quiners planted one of Iowa’s first urban farms in the northwest Des Moines neighborhood where they live, affectionately called the Dogpatch by the locals.

And their neighbors have embraced their new urban farm, with regulars stopping by each week to buy fresh lettuce, enjoy the greenspace in the city and get to know a local farmer who grows their food.

“Our farm slogan is cultivating community,” says Jenny Quiner. “We live here, and we want to make this community stronger.

Jenny credits her husband’s entrepreneurial spirit for planting the idea to create an urban farm in their neighborhood.

The Quiners, who both grew up in Des Moines, didn’t have much experience in farming before they started Dogpatch Urban...