AFM Featured Vendor - Summer Snoballs

​My name is Shawna Schuster. I am the founder and owner of Summer Snoballs, a Hawaiian-style shaved ice business. I am a U.S. Army veteran and a proud mom to two children.

I am originally from Arkansas/Oklahoma, growing up along the border. Shaved ice/snow cones were always my favorite summertime treat. As a kid, I always looked forward to the snow cone shacks opening for the season. A perfect summer day was spent playing at the pool and stopping for snow cones on the way home, a blue-mouth smile on my face (My favorite was blue coconut).
After graduating high school, I attended the University of Arkansas, focusing on general education classes. After three semesters, I started to feel the symptoms of burn out. So, I dropped out of college and joined the military. I wanted to travel, feel proud of what I was doing, and challenge myself.

My job in the military was satellite communications and network technology. My first duty station was Korea, where I was placed in a communications unit. I was also given the additional duty of being my unit’s BOSS representative. BOSS is Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers. It is a program designed to help single and unaccompanied Soldiers by providing recreational activities, volunteer opportunities, and quality of life resources. My job was to relay the current or upcoming events to the Soldiers in my unit and advocate for their needs.

My second duty station was Fort Hood, Texas (Fort Cavazos), where I was assigned to a combat unit. This was where I met my husband, Jordan. Jordan was also in a combat unit, working as a tank crew member on an Abrams tank. Jordan and I would later deploy to different areas. I went to Iraq and he went to Europe. After deployment, I decided to reenlist for another four years, being stationed in Hawaii.

In Hawaii, I was stationed at Schofield Barracks in an aviation support unit. We moved to Hawaii just before the start of the covid outbreak. After being on the island for 2 years, and the initial panic from covid had settled, we decided to have our first child. With the birth of our son, I decided that being home for him was my top priority, so I made the decision not to reenlist when my contract ended.

The decision to move to Massachusetts was based on several things. We already had an established support system here in the form of lifelong friends. We also knew that we would want to have a second child, so healthcare was also an important factor. I also wanted to return to college and finish my degree. So, education, not only for me but also for our children, was important as well. We moved to the Amherst area in 2023. Since then, we have frequented the Amherst Famers’ Market. One of the things we value most about the area is the availability of local produce and support for small businesses. We value the sense of community and want to be a part of it.

I recently graduated from Holyoke Community College with my associate’s degree in science. I will be attending UMASS Amherst this Fall studying microbiology. One of my goals is to work in a hospital laboratory setting. I would also like to work on research projects as well.

I started Summer Snoballs because I noticed that shaved ice was very hard to find in Massachusetts. With snow cones being such an impressionable part of my childhood, I decided to share that passion with my community. I decided to start small by operating out of a 10X10ft tent at the Amherst Farmers’ Market. My hope for this business is to bring joy to the local families and have shaved ice be a part of their summertime memories, like mine. My plan is to open a food truck next year so that mobility to other events is easier and I can make a bigger impact on the community and surrounding areas. 

As a recent patron, and now as a NEW accepted member vendor of the Amherst Farmers' Market, I am excited to be part of this vibrant community and to see you out there for some season fun during the market season on the common!  ;)

---