Thank you for this thread - first of all I think becoming a Neighborhood Salad Maven is an amazing goal, and a few of these comments had me howling.
My $0.02:
Get an Aerogarden - handy to have fresh herbs to use in your vinaigrettes, whether they’re in season or not, and they’re expensive at grocery store! You can also grow lettuces etc. in the bigger Aerogardens but I just do herbs in mine so can’t comment on the ease of that.
Farmers markets like others said.
My favourite recipes that are available online (I’ve adapted both, but they’re great as written:
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/corn-and-fregola-with-grilled-halloumi-cheese
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1021454-chopped-salad-with-chickpeas-feta-and-avocado
https://themodernproper.com/simple-butter-lettuce-salad