This paper aims to assess food accessibility in a rural setting by articulating a place-based and a people-based approach through the case studies of three small localities located in the South of France (Hérault department). Interviews were conducted with residents, mayors and local food retailers, and were complemented with observation. The results show that analysing local food retail environments is insufficient because it does not take into account the significant role of informal food supply places and the high mobility of residents. Indeed, the foodscape lens demonstrates that individuals can navigate through several local food environments by developing various mobility strategies. Mobility thus appears as one of the main drivers of food accessibility in rural areas, with the economic and the social drivers