I was a little surprised to learn that “barrel” is a comparatively common word, so I checked more closely – it is approximately the nine-thousandth most common word in the Project Gutenberg corpus.  It occurs mostly in Chapter Nine, of course.  Note that in Chapter One, it does not refer to food.

• 01.113 with a long barrel
• 02.043 Also there was a barrel of good drink at hand,
• 02.049 Bert and Tom went off to the barrel.
• 02.116 also one barrel of ale which was still full.
• 05.144 and to sneak behind a big barrel
• 09.001 Chapter IX BARRELS OUT OF BOND
• 09.018 There stood barrels,
• 09.018 and barrels, and barrels;
• 09.018 and barrels, and barrels;
• 09.019 Hiding behind one of the largest barrels
• 09.019 From Lake-town the barrels were brought up the Forest River.
• 09.020 When the barrels were empty
• 09.020 and out the barrels floated on the stream,
• 09.037 get the empty barrels
• 09.038 in the sides of the barrels,
• 09.048 they answered rolling the barrels to the opening.
• 09.050 So they sang as first one barrel
• 09.050 Some were barrels really empty,
• 09.051 in a barrel himself,
• 09.051 to the place where the barrels were collected.
• 09.052 so as to let out the barrels as soon as they were all afloat below.
• 09.054 Now the very last barrel
• 09.054 into the cold dark water with the barrel on top of him.
• 09.055 the barrel rolled round
• 09.055 for you cannot count friends that are all packed up in barrels.
• 09.056 even if he had managed to get astride his barrel,
• 09.059 the eddying current carried several barrels
• 09.059 up the side of his barrel
• 09.060 Before long the barrels broke free again
• 09.060 and the barrel was a good big one
• 09.061 On the shallow shore most of the barrels ran aground,
• 09.062 and pushed all the barrels together
• 09.062 He slipped from his barrel
• 09.064 They were making up a raft of barrels,
• 09.065 The barrels now all lashed together
• 10.004 shivering on the barrels,
• 10.009 As soon as the raft of barrels came
• 10.009 in the meanwhile the barrels were left afloat
• 10.010 First of all a barrel was cut loose by Bilbo
• 10.012 which were the right barrels.
• 10.040 about keys or barrels while the dwarves stayed
• 12.060 Maybe Barrel was your pony’s name;