Good Cheer is celebrating its first birthday in Bayview and is holding an open house today to celebrate.

Oct. 15 marks the one-year anniversary of relocating the food bank from the back room of Good Cheer’s Langley Thrift Store to the more spacious Bayview facility on Grimm Road.

The milestone comes as Good Cheer Food Bank looks back on its busiest time ever. It is serving the largest number of clients in its 46-year history, and last month, 669 families came to the food bank — more than double the number in 2007.

The figures include 1,285 children in the community.

“If we had not relocated to the Bayview facility, there is no way we would be able to serve the numbers of people we are seeing, nor the increase we anticipate in these rough economic times,” said Kathy McLaughlin, executive director of Good Cheer.

“We are thankful to our community donors and appeal to others to please support the food bank with financial donations, food donations and volunteer support,” she said.

The public is invited to stop in on the big birthday for a look around the food bank, plus a serving of cake and coffee.

Anniversary gifts, as in food and monetary donations, would be graciously accepted.

The Bayview facility, the makeover of the former Masonic Lodge, is Phase I of Good Cheer’s Capital Campaign, which stands at $950,000 toward its $1.4 million goal.