Category Page Footer SEO - Screw95 Method, does this still work or is it penalized?

In the screw 95 method Jay talks about using PHP text widget and adding your text/article/content to the footer area for each category page.

Obviously this doesn't look appealing or look good on the page, but it is just there for SEO purposes.

I wanted to know if this is still working or if it is penalized? Would I be better off not adding any text/content to the category pages, or is the footer PHP text widget still working and will help SEO my category page?

Thanks, MI