Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jul. 02, 2016	Aug. 03, 2016
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jul. 02, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	SNYDER'S-LANCE, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000057528
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		96,072,480