So it turns out that this feed barrel I have is actually not able to hold water because of an issue with the lids not being able to come off. In the mean time I am still collecting water in milk jugs and 2 litre soda bottles slowly but surely. Seeing as my family consumes about a case of water bottles in a month I am aiming to stock around 2 cases of water bottles into my bottles. My thinking is that another case of water will be used for cooking and cleaning, while still having more water to drink.
In the long run I am working on gathering 630,000 calories of food for 3 people to consume. Thankfully I live out in the edges of the Ozarks near the Mennonite markets where I can purchase food very responsibly and rather cheaply.
Here's one of the stores that has a bunch of amazing food preparations! So now I'm further looking into different rain barrels to water the garden and to gather up and boil into potable water. Have a great day!