When she got to the checkout counter, the cashier would ask for her co-op number, and the register would subtract the 5 percent discount that Parker, like all member-owners of the Weaver Street co-op, receives on many of her purchases.

After June 27, though, she will no longer get that discount at the register. Weaver Street Market's board of directors voted unanimously May 20 to do away with register discounts for the co-op's consumer owners, and to replace that system with one that distributes store profits -- if there are any -- to them at the end of the fiscal year.

"I'd prefer to keep the discount," Parker said. "But I want my co-op to be in good financial health, and if that means giving up my discount so it can do well, I'm willing to do that."

She smiled.

"That doesn't mean I won't miss it," she said.

Weaver Street's board made the change in response to financial pressures brought about by the recession and increased competition, said general manager Ruffin Slater. Sales are down 12 percent at Weaver Street's Carrboro and Southern Village stores, and the co-op is losing about $65,000 each month. Replacing register discounts with a new system of patronage dividends is projected to save $60,000 a month.

"Changing from discounts to dividends, along with other changes that our staff is making, will put us back in the black," said Dave Rizzo, chairman of the board of directors.

Since 1988, Weaver Street has given its member owners a 5 percent discount on many items at the time of purchase. Under the new system, every member's purchases will be recorded, and at the end of each fiscal year any co-op profits not reinvested in the business will be distributed among the members. The amount of each owner's dividend will be based on how much he or she spent at the store during the year.

"The urgency of this decision was that we're losing money," Slater said. "We very much want to turn that around. We've lost sales due to the economy and competition from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. We've made the changes we can make to reduce that loss over the last six months. This was the next place to look."

Weaver Street sent letters to the co-op's 10,000 members announcing the decision and inviting them to two owner meetings -- at the Carrboro Century Center today at 7 p.m. and at the Big Barn in Hillsborough on Wednesday at 7 p.m. -- to discuss the new system. Board members are also staffing tables outside the stores at specified times this week to provide information and answer questions.

The change is one the board considered three years ago. A survey at that time found strong opposition from the membership, and the board dropped the idea.

This time around, Slater said, the board of directors felt it had to make the decision without surveying the owners first. A brochure distributed to owners said, "We didn't want to go through the motions of surveying owners as if we had a choice: we don't have a choice."

"We studied it and sent surveys out three years ago," Slater said. "Many people responded who preferred the discount system. The board took that feedback to heart and decided not to change it.

"But things have changed since then. The board was convinced that this was necessary and decided it was better to go ahead and make the change and provide feedback to owners about what the new system will be like."

Patronage dividends, Slater said, mean owners have a more direct stake in how well the co-op does.

The board also voted to eliminate the 10 percent discount for seniors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Slater said the co-op will start offering new benefits, such as coupons and weekly specials for owners.

Slater said most large grocery co-ops nationally use a patronage dividend system. He said he thinks owners will recognize the economic difficulties and accept the new system. As of Thursday afternoon, he said, he had heard from about 40 members, and 90 percent of that feedback was positive.

Stephen Altmueller, who joined the co-op shortly after moving to Chapel Hill, said the discount is nice, but that's not the main reason he and his family joined. He said he understands why the board voted to change the system.

"It matches the new realities the whole country is facing," he said. "Namely, that you can't hand out profits if the company doesn't make any."

dave.hart@nando.com or 932-8744

IF YOU GO

Weaver Street Market will hold two owner meetings to discuss the change to a patronage dividend system:

• Today, 7 p.m., Carrboro Century Center, 100 N. Greensboro St., Carrboro

• Wednesday, 7 p.m., The Big Barn, Hillsborough

Members of the Board of Directors will be at tables and provide additional information and answer questions at the Carrboro store on Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. and at the Hillsborough store from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.