Nutter salutes year of anti-poverty work, $30 million federal grant for N. Philly

More than a year after Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter unveiled his anti-poverty plan, the city has issued a “progress report” on how it’s been implemented.

At a gathering of local officials, anti-poverty experts and nonprofit organizations at the Community College of Philadelphia Monday, Nutter said the city has won recognition and grant money from the federal government for its recent work fighting poverty.

“The North Philadelphia neighborhood was awarded a $30 million Choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant,” he said. “This is the largest grant that we’ve received from the federal government in modern times.”

Officials said Nutter’s initiative also raised awareness of poverty, provided training to ex-convicts and helped sign up more eligible residents for government benefits.

Twenty-six percent of Philadelphia’s residents were living in poverty in 2013. That’s a slight improvement from 2011, when 28 percent of the city’s population was below the federal poverty line.