Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 418,572	$ 392,843
Cost of sales	273,776	265,460
Gross margin	144,796	127,383
Selling, general and administrative	110,996	110,703
Gain on sale of route businesses, net	(110)	(9,287)
Other income, net	(1,476)	(89)
Income before interest and income taxes	35,386	26,056
Interest expense, net	3,439	2,263
Income before income taxes	31,947	23,793
Income tax expense	12,039	9,469
Net income	19,908	14,324
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	65	111
Net income attributable to Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.	$ 19,843	$ 14,213
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.29	$ 0.21
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic (in shares)	68,992	67,912
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.28	$ 0.21
Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted (in shares)	69,839	69,053
Cash dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.16	$ 0.16