Consolidated Statements Of Income - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 03, 2015	Sep. 27, 2014	Oct. 03, 2015	Sep. 27, 2014
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net revenue	$ 416,773	$ 409,308	$ 1,250,542	$ 1,181,920
Cost of sales	274,287	266,088	817,211	760,625
Gross margin	142,486	143,220	433,331	421,295
Selling, general and administrative	114,835	116,659	355,828	354,035
Settlements of certain litigation	2,900	0	5,675	0
Impairment charges	0	0	0	7,503
(Gain)/loss on sale of route businesses, net	(501)	22	(1,368)	(1,438)
Other expense/(income), net	115	61	(731)	642
Income before interest and income taxes	25,137	26,478	73,927	60,553
Interest expense, net	2,851	2,984	7,989	10,485
Income before income taxes	22,286	23,494	65,938	50,068
Income tax expense	6,557	9,809	22,233	17,719
Income from continuing operations	15,729	13,685	43,705	32,349
Income from discontinued operations, net of income tax	0	124,097	0	133,942
Net income	15,729	137,782	43,705	166,291
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	52	16	63	32
Net income attributable to Snyder’s-Lance, Inc.	15,677	137,766	43,642	166,259
Income from continuing operations attributable to Snyders's-Lance, Inc.	$ 15,677	$ 13,669	$ 43,642	$ 32,317
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.22	$ 1.96	$ 0.62	$ 2.37
Basic earnings per share – Continuing Operations (in dollars per share)	0.22	0.19	0.62	0.46
Basic earnings per share – Discontinued Operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	1.77	0.00	1.91
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.22	1.94	0.61	2.35
Diluted earnings per share – Continuing Operations (in dollars per share)	0.22	0.19	0.61	0.46
Diluted earnings per share – Discontinued Operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	1.75	0.00	1.89
Cash dividends declared per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.16	$ 0.16	$ 0.48	$ 0.48