Hello! I’m Srirupa Dasgupta, founder and owner of Upohar — a catering business with a social mission to alleviate poverty.

In 2011, when I started the business, Upohar offered the gift of exciting new cuisines to the community. And the gift of employment opportunity to those who were “unemployable” — new immigrants and refugees with a cultural or English-language barrier, people experiencing homelessness, people with a prison record, and anyone in need. This made sense during the Great Recession when jobs were scarce.

Over the years, Upohar evolved from a part-time catering company in 2011, to a restaurant with catering services. In 2014, we opened a vegetarian restaurant at which we served our popular “world buffet” featuring a fully vegan and gluten-free menu. We added a food truck in 2016 and expanded our catering services to offer full-service. And in 2017, we acquired a stand at Lancaster Central Market, serving authentic Puerto Rican food. Then came COVID and we pivoted. We closed the restaurant, and spun off the market stand as a separate business, allowing Upohar to return to our catering roots.

Although much has changed a decade later, Upohar’s mission has not. We continue to offer the gift of food and the gift of opportunity. Post-COVID, Upohar’s gift of opportunity is for our fellow business owners in the hard-hit food industry.

The big difference is that now we source our extensive repertoire of authentic global cuisines from local minority-owned, immigrant-owned, women-owned small food businesses. These are people who are experts in their culinary traditions. And this is why our clients rave about the food we serve

So enjoy our gift to you, knowing that it gives back to the community every time.

Sri