Consolidated Statements Of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 29, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 439,051	$ 399,400	$ 857,623	$ 792,243
Cost of sales	293,081	267,482	566,857	532,942
Gross margin	145,970	131,918	290,766	259,301
Selling, general and administrative	123,504	107,649	234,500	218,352
Impairment charges	1,900	127	1,900	127
Gain on sale of route businesses, net	(1,482)	(10,882)	(1,592)	(20,169)
Other income, net	(2,028)	(572)	(3,504)	(661)
Income before interest and income taxes	24,076	35,596	59,462	61,652
Interest expense, net	3,521	2,303	6,960	4,566
Income before income taxes	20,555	33,293	52,502	57,086
Income tax expense	7,525	13,828	19,564	23,296
Net income	13,030	19,465	32,938	33,790
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	51	140	116	251
Net income attributable to Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.	$ 12,979	$ 19,325	$ 32,822	$ 33,539
Basic earnings per share	$ 0.19	$ 0.28	$ 0.47	$ 0.49
Weighted average shares outstanding – basic	69,279	68,294	69,136	68,103
Diluted earnings per share	$ 0.19	$ 0.28	$ 0.47	$ 0.49
Weighted average shares outstanding – diluted	70,086	69,319	69,922	69,086
Cash dividends declared per share	$ 0.16	$ 0.16	$ 0.32	$ 0.32